I remember going to school when I was a kid. I remember liking my teachers, hanging around with my friends and going to lunch and having recess. I remember all the wonderful gifts I received, both intellectually and spiritually, by going to school. The friendships I fostered and the lessons learned. I remember school fondly. So, many people ask, why do I want so desperately to homeschool my two kids? I guess it comes down to the realization that school is not like it was twenty years ago. Now there are guns and longer school days and shorter recess if any. Teachers are underpaid and don’t really care – for the most part – what my child learns or doesn’t learn. Sure those are great reasons, right? They sound good – better than the real reason I want to homeschool. The real reason is that I’m selfish. I want my kids to spend the majority of their day with me – their mom. I want to be the one who sees the light go on and who sees the enjoyment, the sheer thrill of learning. I want to sleep in a bit and do fun things with my kids and really be there for them. I want to be able to take it more slowly or more quickly depending on the interest level and intellectual level of my kids. I want to be able to take a mental health day once in a while without feeling guilty. I say that’s selfish, but I truly think it’s the opposite. I don’t want to take the easy way out. I don’t want to shoo my kids out the door at 8 and relinquish responsibility for them. I don’t want to have that scapegoat – the public school system. If my kids screw up, I won’t be able to say the school’s failed them. I will have to look in the mirror and own up to the real culprit. So in that way, I must ensure that my kids get the best education possible. And I feel I can give them that education. Many people will ask me why I feel I can give them that education, what are my credentials. And I show them my stretch marks and the lack-of-sleep induced bags under my eyes. Those are my credentials. I am their mother – who else would want better things for them than I? I got the rare privilege of being the mother of these two wonderful creatures. I was allowed to have them in my life ever so briefly – I want to be there as much as possible for as long as possible. I want them to learn the things I’ve learned and see the things I’ve seen. I can only give them my knowledge and they in turn can build on that and become more, in whatever way they desire. Why can’t I teach them how to add and subtract and how to read and how to do all those other little things they learn in school? Is there some secret ingredient those 20-something kids fresh out of college have that I don’t? Unfortunately, in college, the teachers-to-be are taught more about crowd control than educating, more about keeping the kids in line than helping them learn. One of the greatest books I’ve read is How Children Fail by John Holt. In reading this book, I saw for the first time just how little school does for our children. Many of the situations he mentioned were ones I had seen played out in my school years more times than I can count, and most of the doings were unconscious, little things teachers do in the classroom without acknowledgment. It is because of all these reasons that I feel I am the most qualified to teach my kids. Of course one of the most mentioned “problems” with homeschooling is socialization. Many people think that kids need to be around others their own age in order to become social creatures; that somehow homeschooled kids will be anti-social. But children become social in a variety of ways, in just being kids are social. My kids will be socialized in many ways from t-ball to brownies, from grocery shopping to museum trips. They will be socialized with many different people in many different walks of life, and this is, I think, the best way to be socialized. It will be my responsibility to enmesh my children in their community and society as a whole; sure I can decide to just sit at home if I want and therefore halt socialization, but I can also be a means to socialization. I can be the pathway my children take to community and therefore socialization. Enough of my ranting about homeschooling, below are some links to other sites where you can discover more opinions on homeschooling as well as some sites to benefit those already involved in this adventure.

We've done a lot of reading and researching. I think anyone who entitles themselves to an opinion on the subject should do the same. Until you've studied it, it's hard to make an informed decision. Please check out some of the great links below for more information.