Why aren't you in school?

My nephew just told me the following true story.

He was in the supermarket with his grandparents during school hours.  A middle aged, abled body looking man approached him said (so that everyone around them could hear) "Son, why aren't you in school".  My nephew (homeschooled age 17, but looks 14) replied, "Why aren't you at work."  The man replied "I don't have a job."  My nephew replied "I don't have school."  The man said nothing and walked away.

Granted, my nephew was a bit mean, but I blame it on public schools ;)... he has only been homeschooling 2 years.  I am sure the man felt badly about not working, but just as he didn't want to be called out because he didn't work, homeschoolers are tired of being called out because they aren't where other non-related people think they should be.

On the other hand, too bad the guy didn't reply that he was self employed, because my nephew could have them said that he was self educated.


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Homeschool: Why Would You Do That?

 Not all of the homeschooling questions I receive are from people looking to homeschool. Sometimes they come from people who are against it, or want to stir the pot. Here is one such question.

Question: Why would you want to homeschool your children?

Answer: Why wouldn't I want to homeschool my children? Seriously! If there is something crazy or
dysfunctional about me wanting to spend time with my kids and teach them, then I don't know what it is. Here are some of the reasons I do it.

I homeschool my kids because of their thirst for knowledge. I recognized at a young age that my kids were incredibly inquisitive. They would rapid fire questions at me and anyone else who they could pin down about anything under the sun, and not let up until you sent them off to do something else... anything else. Of course other kids are like that too, but I didn't want to see that type of curiousity fade, and so I wanted to homeschool.

I homeschool to give my kids much needed personal attention. For completely different reasons, my kids clearly needed one-on-one attention to maximize their learning. It was suggested often that one child was ADHD and schools wanted her medicated. At 14, she remains unmediated and will finish high school at 16. The other child was clearly more advanced, but was also becoming bored and depressed. As their mom, I knew it was my job to jump in, and so I wanted to homeschool.

I homeschool because I really like being with my kids. Sure I have moments when I want to tear out my hair, and I am certain that my head does the occasional 360 (they are teens now), but at the end of the day, sitting with them and talking about different subjects, teaching them new things, and even having them teach me is invigorating. I wouldn't trade that for the world, so I want to continue homeschooling my kids.

Soon enough, my time homeschooling my kids will be over. We started looking at colleges last summer and are making plans for the next stage in life, both for us and for the kids. In the meanwhile, I will treasure the time I have left as a homeschooling mom, even as I hand them over to tutors for some subjects and drive them all over 'tarnation to participate in activities and prepare to leave the nest. Until then, am glad I made the decision to homeschool my kids.

~leave a comment if you have a REAL question about homeschooling.