Hello world c:

Part ONE- The Why?

Have you noticed how popular homeschooling has gotten on social media lately? As horrible as the pandemic was for our country ( and the world), the one positive I can find is the way homeschooling has finally become socially accepted. I have been homeschooling off and on since the mid 1990’s. Yep, its true. Back then, admitting you were a SAHM who also homeschooled was a sure conversation killer. Its been so nice to see the shift. As parents, our greatest desire and most important job is to protect our children and give them the best resources possible to learn and grow. With all the things currently happening in our country (as well as the world), its time to finally have honest discussions on the state of our education system. How did it start? What was it’s original mission? Out of the options available, which has the best outcomes for children? This subject is so important and is more far reaching than most people comprehend. Our children’s education impacts EVERYONE’s future. When the systems that serve our children’s education are failing, it becomes evident through all of society. It is of my opinion, that much of the chaos that we are seeing in our country today is actually, at least in part due to generations of collapse in public education. The good news… You are here… looking for better options for your children. You CAN be the change you wish to see in the world.

Our very LONG list…

• 1. Trust. There are an abundance of reasons to choose homeschooling. No matter what else I could say, nothing is going to matter quite as much as this. Who do you trust with your children’s education? Who do you trust with their upbringing? With their childhood? If you are here, it is possible you are also seeing the irresponsible and scary things happening within ALL of our previously trusted institutions. Once trust is lost, it is very difficult to build it back. Unfortunately, our school systems don’t seem to be interested in building trust back. It was once believed that only public schools had the resources and ability to teach children properly. Thankfully- that is no longer true. There are now an abundance of resources available- making it possible for almost every one to choose homeschooling. It all really boils down to who do you trust with your child’s future.
• 2. Safety– Violence is at an all time high in the United States. It’s impossible to look at the current state of public education and not acknowledge the sad scary truth. Our nation has lost too many children to too many acts of violence. No one seems to have any answers that work. Educators report that school violence is only increasing. Between school shootings. bullying/ cyberbullying, gang violence, and sexual violence- the amount and kinds of violence is just out of control. It happens more than most of us are aware. How are children supposed to concentrate on learning if they are also battling to feel safe? Despite years of debate, additional funding for safety protocols and attempts to remove citizens constitutional freedoms, the violence at our public schools continues to grow. While parents, along with public education should continue to look for workable solutions, many of us are unwilling to risk our children’s childhood waiting.
• 3. Building Faith I recognize that not everyone who homeschools does so for faith based reasons. Schools removed God from all public education decades ago. Many would argue, that the profound effect can be seen in the decline happening in our society. Whatever your reasons for choosing to homeschool, it is a very good idea to evaluate your belief system and values as a beginning point. Knowing who you are and what you believe will ground and guide you when the path may not be recognizably clear. For our family- our faith is the foundation on which we build everything else. Whatever your faith or belief system, it WILL influence how you teach. This becomes important in multiple areas but is particularly showing when teaching the sciences. You could choose more secular curriculums where Evolution is featured, or choose more faith based curriculums to include Creation. Whatever direction you choose, it is an opportunity to integrate character building into your child’s education and your families journey.
• 4. Freedom– Simply put, you, your child and your whole family could gain a whole lot of freedom by homeschooling. Curriculum… becomes what best fits your child and your family. The time of day and the way you homeschool… again is what best fits your child and your family. You can take vacations and sick days as needed. Favorite subjects can be explored in ways that would never be possible in a traditional school setting. All of this is possible because of the freedom homeschooling allows. This will be discussed in other ways throughout the blog, but Freedom is undoubtedly one of the biggest blessings of Homeschooling.
• 5. Flexibility– The ebbs and flows of life work much more naturally with homeschooling. Wanna homeschool in the morning and have free afternoons? Done. Wanna work in a garden or run to the library in the morning and homeschool while also making dinner in the evening? Done. Homeschooling allows families to work together to find what ever works best for both the child and the whole family
• 6. An even deeper bond develops between parent and child. No one is doubting the love that parents and children share- whether they choose to homeschool or send their kids to public school. We all have to do what we feel is best, right? However, something very special happens as homeschool parents teach their children. The truth of it is- we are learning right along with our children. All of those shared experiences add up to a more meaningful connection. Siblings can also build deeper connections. Often older children are able to help younger children learn subjects they have already conquered. The benefit of this is those concepts become deeply foundational, as well as building confidence and empathy in the older child as well as admiration and trust in the younger one. Often this builds more close-knit relationships through out families.
• 7. Self- directed learning. Homeschooling allows your kids to follow their own interests while also pursuing their education. Children become truly invested in the path of their education when they get to make choices that are meaningful to them.
• 8. Creates a more relaxed and natural learning environment. Public schools have a schedule to keep. Your individual child is required to keep up with the class- whether it be sitting in a desk, the length of time it takes to read a passage, how long they take to eat lunch or understand a topic. Homeschooling allows for your child’s needs to be met on their level without having to consider the needs of 20+ other students. We have had homeschool beach days- where we take a book and read on the beach after looking for shells and having lunch. There have also been days that were rainy and cold, so we spent the entire day reading or playing educational board games while comfy in our pjs. Those were days we were so so thankful to spend a little extra time sleeping in and not having to run out early in the morning
• 9. Time to do deep digs on your child’s favorite subjects. Does your child just adore dinosaurs? Or trains? or Ballerinas? Or Photography? Or snow fishing in the artic? What ever your child’s favorite topics, as a homeschooler, there is time to explore everything there is to learn about these subjects. This is one of my favorite things about homeschooling.
• 10. Socialization– ok, this one becomes the elephant in the room, right? This is the main number one reason that all your family and friends are telling you NOT to homeschool. The truth is – not all socialization is a good thing. Both social media and news are filled with stories of children being emotionally damaged after their experiences in public school. It is possible some of these incidents could lead to growth or maturity, but many of these drama/trauma events lead to emotional scars that is difficult to overcome. People act like homeschooling automatically ends all social opportunities for our children. Nothing could be further from the truth. Homeschooling can be as social or unsocial as we make it. My children maintained friendships with their REAL friends from public school for the entirety of their homeschool journey. We made effort to have sleepovers and playdates. Adding to this, parents can model good social behavior as we ( the parents and child) interact with multi-generational ages as we run errands, go to the park/library, or get involved with taking outside extra-curricular lessons. Lastly, look for homeschool groups in your area or even consider starting one- you will soon find there are lots of families looking for opportunities to form healthy friendships.
• 11. Homeschooling encourages resourcefulness. As children gain freedom to learn about their own interests, they also begin to develop life skills which then builds confidence. It is just a fact, people who have developed true life skills are more confident. Even better for a child to grow up having a sense of who they are while also building skills that will bring them into a confident adulthood.
• 12. Homeschool Vs Public statistics The statistics show that homeschooled children are significantly above average when compared with their public school counterparts- regardless of their families economic circumstances or parents level of education. This may seem shocking to those that argue that parents lack the credentials to homeschool but the evidence shows that overall, they do a better job than our current authorities. https://www.nheri.org/research-facts-on-homeschooling/ https://admissionsly.com/homeschooling-statistics/
• 13 Better Retention of learned material. Education gained through living experiences has a better retention rate than the methods currently employed in our public schools. For example, in one homeschool method: the unit study- the child would learn about the pioneers in multiple different ways. These might include role playing(ie- dressing up like Daniel Boone), learning about animal tracking, reading biographies of multiple pioneers, visiting historic landmarks and creating meals that might have been eaten during that time period. That child is going to preserve that information much more than the the child who only learned the date and the event through rote memorization.
• 14. Free- thinkers. Homeschooling allows our children to have an ability to think for themselves instead of being deeply entrenched into the group think that happens so often in public education. We will delve into this topic deeper in further articles. For now, understand this, the foundation of our current public education system is built on the idea of conformity. Anyone who doesn’t easily fit into the cookie cutter mold, is ostracized back into obedience and submission. Homeschooling allows the opportunity to teach our children appropriate ways to fit into society while also teaching them how and when to stand up for the important things
• 15. Special needs. The beauty of homeschooling your special needs children means they are no longer required to live under the labels that public schools give to justify funding. I think we can all agree, it is very important to identify and address learning differences as early as possible. But if not done properly, these labels could end up clouding their entire identity in a public school setting. Make no mistake, this is in no way to disparage any parent of a special needs child whose level of need requires specific services. Trust me, I was there with our last child. Thankfully we had two wonderful years in early education where I can honestly say, those teachers were absolute ANGELS. They helped my son overcome struggles that I was just too tired and stressed to attempt. If that is where you find yourself, Dear mama- please (PLEASE) do not feel like this is directed to you to take on more than you can currently handle. This is for the mom that is not having her child’s needs met through the school setting. While my son excelled in his early education classes, he regressed quickly when he was moved into adverse conditions that existed in a contained Kindergarten class for just autism students. The details of his experiences will be further explained in other places in this blog, but there came a time when I realized that despite my repeated attempts to work things out with the school, the best option for my son was to homeschool. You might find your child in the same place even if that time is not the current situation. Depending on you state you live in, you may still be able to access services through your child’s state educational funding while homeschooling. In my own home state of Florida, there are scholarships available for children with specific special needs, children who have been bullied, and children who are in habitually failing school districts. In fact, just since this summer many additional opportunities for homeschool funding has become available for all children in our state. Many scholarships will allow you to use your child’s public school funding to homeschool AND find the best therapies available to meet the needs of your child. I will include more about this in other places within this site and in the resources page. It is very important as you are making your decisions, to explore what resources, if any, are available for your child in the state you live in.
• 16. Frustrated School Staff and Teachers The incredibly sad reality is that the majority of our school teachers and staff are being mistreated like never before. Despite holding it together during a world wide pandemic, returning to in class learning has not been kind to our teachers. Between mask mandates, forced vaccinations to keep jobs, fear of contracting illness (and the possibility of bringing it home to loved ones), the multitudes of school violence, being compelled to teach ideologies that are offensive to the majority of Americans while also having classroom size increasing and simultaneously being defunded- teachers and school staff are being pressed into impossible situations. Increasingly teachers are being told to fund their classrooms on their own dime. While I have no doubt, good teachers are trying their best amongst horrible circumstances, many are succumbing and being forced into other careers. Morale for many who are staying put is at an all time low. Homeschooling helps take the load off the overloaded system while also protecting your child from the negative side effects of this downward trend.
• 17. Music… Arts… Creativity. Homeschooling allows time and energy for your kids to follow artistic pursuits that often get left out of funding in our public schools. This could also be a very positive opportunity for ex- school teachers to offer services for music, art, or really any creative class to homeschooling families. In addition with platforms like Youtube, Instagram and TikTok, anyone can find lessons on just about any creative endeavor. This is not to say that we should not be aware of the potential dangers of these sites. But if used properly, these platforms can be a valuable resource in your homeschooling adventure. One of my children taught himself to play guitar completely from Youtube videos. Another one of my children strengthened his writing skills though a website he belonged to where different people would add to an ongoing story. I can give multiple examples of this. With the ability to look up any subject and follow any educational pursuit at any time, this is one of the places homeschooling truly shines.
• 18. Field trips. Real life happens in the real world. Homeschooling allows any or every day to become a field trip instead of a once a year event. Field trips are such a valuable resource to give your child real opportunities to see things they could never see in the typical classroom. Every state has local landmarks, state parks, natural water sources that can be fantastic field trip opportunities. Libraries often have craft projects and story times. Local drama clubs often have midday shows that are perfect. There are even lessons as you run your errands every day. Bank trips, visiting with friends, grocery shopping all have educational opportunities.
• 19. TRAVEL. This one is the most fascinating to me. As homeschoolers, you can travel when everyone else is in school. You are no longer bound by times and dates schools are in session. You can include landmarks, day trips, road trips and even world adventures in your everyday lessons. You are no longer bound by a schedule or calendar that doesn’t fit your family. Travel is one of the best ways to expand both your own and your child’s world.
• 20.Home-Ed in your Homestead. There is a growing movement in our nation; People are returning to the country with a desire to grow their own food, work their own businesses, and be more involved in their community. Homeschooling works in perfect balance with this lifestyle. . There is so much to learn on a working farm. Raising farm animals teaches about biology and being resourceful and responsible. Growing plants and food teaches things about earth science that could never really be gained the same way from a book. The possibilities are almost endless. We moved to our property with intention to give our son ( who is on the autism spectrum) more out of the box life lessons than we could find in the city. This blog will be following this journey. 🙂 Living in a smaller space, even an apartment does not preclude you from this endeavor. With things like Greenstalk, ( link to be provided) you can get a very good beginning education of growing plants right on a small terrace or patio. So anyone can really include a homesteading life skill into homeschooling.
• 21. Teaching to your child’s learning style. The basic learning styles include visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic (learning by doing). Everyone tends to favor certain ways of learning. Early in your education journey, it’s important to discover how your child learns best. In a classroom that is full of students, teachers have to share the information the way the curriculum demands. Much of the time, this may not be the best way for YOUR child to learn. Even siblings may not share the same learning style. Albert Einstein once said ” Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing it is stupid.” One of the best things about homeschooling is it can be tailored to the individual child.
• 22. Questionable School Boards Most of us just take it as a given that it is our duty as a society to contribute to our local school districts through our property taxes. The majority have NEVER attended a school board meeting. In complete honesty, they have traditionally been boring events that one would want to avoid. Unfortunately, that has led a lot of business to be conducted without consequence. Many parents have recently found out just how out of control their local school boards have gotten. If somehow you have avoided this knowledge- do a quick search on any social media with the key words unhappy or angry parent: corrupt school board… or any other combination of keywords in that subject. Many have realized that the school boards have long ago stopped caring about parental concerns. Currently lobbyists and political contributions have a much louder voice in our school systems. Large numbers of families are leaving the system as they feel these school boards completely disregard their concerns for their children. While leaving the system does in fact protect our own children. I am convinced that as parents in a larger community, we still need to stay involved and attend these meetings for a multitude of reasons. One, being that we still need to advocate for all of the children of our communities, as they will eventually affect all of our futures. A second major reason is these school boards are making decisions that affect our tax dollars. Whether we have children or not in the education system, every property owner pays for school taxes. As such, we all need to stay informed and not just letting these boards make objectionable decisions unchecked
• 23. Lice, Masks, Trusting the Science It is a fact of life. The moment our young ones start school they seem to bring home every known form of illness over and over again. I always chalked that up to building their immune system. Maybe it is. Maybe it is not. I know I am questioning things a lot more these days than I used to. Regardless, the powers that be are constantly reinforcing the idea that sickness will be a fact of life with expected mandates returning at unpredicted times.. And while less destructive than the rest , I’m sorry to include the first in this bullet list item. It makes my head itch to even mention it. It is a horrible reality that seems to plague our public institutions. Choosing to homeschool means less exposure to all potential illness and damaging decisions of others.
• 24. Experimental educational concepts tested on our children. Because so many of us attended public schools when we were young, we believe as an institution, it’s already been perfected to create the very best environments for our children. . Sadly, that is a false illusion.. Many of the educational concepts we have come to know- have been colossal failures. Generations of children have been left struggling to maintain educational buoyancy amongst a sea of shark-infested reforms. No Child Left Behind, Common Core, Partnerships for Effective Teaching, Standardized Testing, and Race to the Top – The experts seem to agree that all have been horribly expensive time wasting failures that impacted our children. All had high price tags, as lobbyist did whatever it took to get these expensive programs implemented in local districts. Politicians, local governments and school boards were all financial benefactors of these “programs”. Add to this, currently there are a number of politically motivated agenda reforms angering parents around the country. Many argue they intentionally endanger our children. The unavoidable truth is, immoral governments and entities have unknowingly subjected multiple groups of humanity to medical and physiological experiments even in recent history. (If you need examples- look into the Tuskegee Experiment, Radium Girls, Stanford Prison Experiment- really there are so many… search illegal human experiments for more understanding). It at minimum, bares consideration that these programs may be ineffective (or worse) on purpose. In Part 3, we will look more deeply into the history of how our education system came to be the way it is. Even if we believe the problems are unintentional, at some point we have to have the conversation of whether all of these “programs” have delivered on the promises made. To the contrary, many would say the past few generations are not nearly as equipped to achieve even the standards of our parents and grandparents. While many more might be attending college than in previous history, they are starting out adult life deeply in debt while also unable to find adequate employment, achieve owning a house or even starting a family. This point could go into dozens of directions but really this is just the start of the conversation. For now, its important just to realize, that millions of dollars have gone into programs for education, that for decades have not delivered desirable results. Let’s start the conversation while we each discover what is the best education for our own children.
• 25. Family Business The ability and time to include your child in a family business, even with only small tasks from an early age, teaches children responsibility and skills that are really difficult to come by in our current society. Teaching real world skills, finances and good work ethics will give your child an advantage. The truth of this is delivered every time you hear someone say,” no one wants to work anymore”, or “they can’t find someone to help with… ( finish the statement with just about anything)”. Or how many of us have heard someone say,” how am I supposed to get experience, if no one will give me a job”. Including homeschooling into building a family business gives opportunities to gain these skills from an early age. If the goal of education is to grow well rounded individuals who are happy, peaceful, and who have the ability to provide for themselves as well as their families: It has been a long understood belief that our public education system was initially created during the Industrial Revolution with the sole intent of creating good employees for the newly established factories of the time . There is much more to it than this oversimplified version of history. It is an absolute truth that big corporations over the decades have since taken over nearly every industry while small mom and pop businesses have fallen away. The pandemic has held a spotlight up to the inefficiencies of all of our nations resources and supply chains being entrusted to only a few large corporations. This has created an excellent opportunity for small businesses to not only make a comeback but be the way forward. Homeschooling proves to be an excellent choice to not only build a great future for our young ones but also to potentially rebuild our country and create a great future for us all.

As you can see, there are an abundance of reasons to choose homeschooling for our families. The list could keep us here for days and really does seem to be growing by the day. The conversation has to start somewhere. What points would you add? I hope this blog can be a starting point for these discussions. Please feel free to use this list when discussing this topic with your family. Whether you choose to homeschool or simply are here to better advocate for your children’s public school journey, I hope this blog might be a blessing to all who are searching for the very best ways to educate their children.