Written by Jamie Martin, editor of Simple Homeschool and Steady Mom
Recently we discussed the tough stuff–the hard side of home education that gives us a run for our money. But thankfully, that’s only one side of the story. There is another–the one that keeps us going through the challenges and reminds us why we do what we do.
Because it’s also a fact that there are also many pleasures involved in this homeschooling lifestyle we’ve chosen! The benefits for our children are often written about–increased self-confidence, ability to focus on interests, and the freedom to move at their own pace, to name a few.
But in today’s post, I want to dwell on the benefits to us as homeschooling parents.
In all of life there is a dark and a light side. We get to choose which one we notice most.
Today, we’re walking in the light. So allow me to share what I love about our family’s lifestyle of home education.
1. The books & read-alouds
Classics and living books change lives, and as homeschooling parents we have the awesome chance to spend our days with them. We read and watch in wonder as their messages slowly influence those who live within the walls of our homes–ourselves included.
I didn’t grow up being read to regularly as a child. This means I now get to discover so many incredible childhood titles right alongside my kiddos!
What this looks like in our home:
- Reading aloud is the major structured learning activity of our day. We rarely skip it.
- We read at times when nourishment is required: Breakfast, Snacks, and Lunch times (I eat at other times, or will eat first with the kids, then read.)
- I choose books to purchase from these lists: Sonlight, Simply Charlotte Mason, and Ambleside Online
2. A do-over for me
I excelled while climbing the grade ladder of the traditional schooling system. A people-pleaser by nature with a sincere desire to learn, I desperately wanted to be successful.
I was good at test-taking, studying, getting the grade, and then forgetting the material. This bothered my contemplative self–I remember being troubled that I didn’t have more time to learn because I had to spend time proving that I had learned.
For a few years of middle and high school, I begged my parents to homeschool me. A prophecy of what was to come, perhaps?
Now I am falling in love with learning again–through the eyes of my children. As we discover the world together, I feel deeply thankful to have this magical opportunity to spend hours relearning and getting excited about life and all it has to offer.
What this looks like in our home:
- Our homeschool isn’t based on the traditional style of schooling. It’s based on life learning that happens all day, every day.
- I want to model a love of learning to my kids–so my own studying and reading is important. Homeschooling isn’t just about my kids and their education.
- We follow the principles of Leadership Education, preparing to fulfill our unique missions in life.
3. The time
Busyness and rushing characterize modern-day life. We wake to an alarm–our signal to get kids up and out of the door, head to our own jobs, back again to pick them up, home for homework, cleaning, and dinner before doing it all again tomorrow.
Not this mama. We show our priorities by how we live, and I live SLOW. And I love slow.
Homeschooling, the way we do it, means time. Time for…whatever we want time for! Just by having several more hours in the day together, we have time to focus on what matters. Each and every day, I offer my kids the gift of time.
What this looks like in our home:
- We stay home! Activities are carefully chosen and scrutinized to make sure they fit our ideals before being added to our schedule.
- We focus on what matters to us. Some of these priorities include: eating well, learning about God, developing our characters, living simply, influencing and changing the world.
- I believe boredom is an asset to a child’s life, so I leave plenty of unstructured “nothing” time in our days.
4. The freedom and flexibility
Freedom is one of our family’s core values. It influences much of the what and why of our daily lives. Our decision to homeschool means our family is not bound by anyone’s schedule but the one we choose.
We are in the driver’s seat of our own adventure. I am my own boss, CEO, teacher, and principal rolled into one, free to structure our days according to what we need, want and love. What could be better?
What this looks like in our home:
- Our educational philosophy centers around freedom.
- We have the flexibility to take vacations when it suits us, to take breaks when we need them, or to jet across the ocean for a month.
- We school year-round–because learning happens around the clock and around the calendar.
5. I haven’t missed a thing.
We’ll never get back these days, and maybe on some days, that is a very good thing!
But whether days have been good, incredible, or awful–I’ve seen it all. And I love that.
I heard a radio story on NPR recently about 24 hour daycares, the newest development in childcare services. It mentioned children not able to sleep in their own beds due to their parents’ work schedules. And my heart grieved for those children, for the hard choices parents feel forced to make.
And I also felt grateful, for so much: That the first time Jonathan read a book, he read to me. That the day Trishna wrote her first story, she asked me for help with her spelling. That the moment Elijah decided to write his name, I sat right by his side.
I smile, I laugh, I struggle, I screw up.
But whatever I do, I’m here. I haven’t missed a thing.
And that, my friends, is what I love most about homeschooling.
What do you love about homeschooling?
Originally published on July 9, 2012.
My little one is only 12 weeks old but my Husband and I are already thinking ahead towards her education. Homeschooling is something we’re really interested in and this post definitely makes me want to just go for it! This is exactly the values we have and lifestyle we’re after, thanks for putting it into writing!
Jessica’s latest post: Out of the Fatherland
Hi Jamie, l love this! I’m about to begin my first year of homeschooling with my four children. I credit this blog as one that has steared me in that direction. Thanks so much for your inspiration. I’m saving this to read again later.
That’s such a special honor, Jennie. Enjoy the journey!
This is a great post. I’m new to your website and new to homeschooling. I feel very inspired and energized by your words. We’re starting to homeschool our four kids this week as we prepare for a several-month trip across the country in the fall. Thanks for your thoughts!
Domini Hedderman’s latest post: The Book is Published!
This is such an encouraging post! We are entering our second year homeschooling, after my oldest spent her first three years of school in public school. I have a 4th grader, two 1st graders, as well as an almost 2 year old and another baby on the way. I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed, and this list was excellent food for thought for me to remember why I accepted this call on our family’s life in the first place. Thank you!
Thank you so much for posting about the positive! Its so easy to get caught up in the negatives (even if we are often joking about them or talking about them as a means of reminding ourselves that we all have tough days :). I am relatively new to homeschooling and came to it in a kind of emergent situation so I didn’t have much time to research what I was doing. It was a complete surprise to me that we had MORE time, I assumed we would have less, that I would be a frazzled chaotic mess and would just do my best to “get through” the rest of the school year until I could get them back into a regular classroom. I didn’t realize the amount of flexibility and freedom that came with homeschooling – imagine my delight when I realized we could spend August somewhere besides Arizona (when its 120 degrees!), or that I could let the children sleep in when they needed more rest. And I didn’t even know what I was missing while they were in school, until I got to watch my daughter soak up a history lesson on Joan of Ark, looking at me with surprise and wonder as she gobbled it up with enthusiasm, or when I read an essay my son wrote and I realized what a great sense of humor he has. Homeschooling definitely has its tough moments, but the good, at least for me, far outweighs the bad.
Jen’s latest post: Should you Homeschool?
The books and read alouds are my favorite! I also use the Sonlight book lists. Homeschooling has been such a blessing to my family. My oldest is going to public high school this fall, but I’m thankful that I had the time I did with her.
Dawn’s latest post: 7.24.13
I needed to read this today. I am a year away from beginning our family’s homeschool journey; however I already feel like the outcast. As soon as a group of mothers start chatting at the park, the conversation often turns to how excited they are to be “getting rid of” as many of their kids as possible for as long as possible in the Fall. Even one of my closest friends has decided to ship her three-year-old off to a 7 hour long day, five days a week, for pre-school. She’s expressed her excitement to me and I’m pretty sure my sadness for her daughter shows in my face instead of excitement. When did we start seeing our children as burdens instead of blessings? I can’t wait to share in my children’s triumphs and disappointments. Thanks for your post.
What is the name of the beautiful book you have pictured in #2?
Thank you SO much! That was a wonderful article. I absolutely love “In all of life there is a dark and a light side. We get to choose which one we notice most.” I am putting that up on my wail! May you always always feel God’s love 🙂
Thank you, Virginia!
You have no idea how much I needed to hear this today as I literally hide in the bathroom from it all! Less than an hour ago I finished a conversation w my husband about the HUGE costs of homeschooling!! With the new year starting I was feeling very overwhelmed w diving back in. I wasn’t finding the good, but the bad was large and scary!!! Thanks for the beautiful reminder of this post. It was like the sun after a heavy ran!! I will read it again often…today!!! Ill also send it to my husband who will rejoice w me at God’s amazing provision through you!! Thank you so much!
These words have totally warmed my heart today, Antoinette. God bless you and yours!
The reading! I had no idea that I would love reading to the kids as much as they love being read to. We’re like our own book club, the 3 of us, books bringing us together while enhancing their (our) education.
Also, YES to everything else in this post.
Rachel @ 6512 and growing’s latest post: the “un” of schooling
This is such a lovely post! WE also “school” year around because learning doesn’t ever stop in our lives, does it?? Thank you for the encouragement and reminder of what is important!
tereza crump aka mytreasuredcreations’s latest post: Nim’s Island – how we did our first Unit Study in the middle of summer.
This post is why Simple Homeschool is the only homeschool blog I regularly read : ) I think my favorite thing about homeschooling is that my kids are allowed the grow & learn at their own pace and aren’t forced into a box- told they are “behind” or “ahead”. As a former special education teacher, I know how quickly children our labeled in some schools and I’m thankful mine are only labeled as “kids who learn”. It’s either that…or the fact that we get to sleep in ; )
I’m so happy to find your blog! We started homeschool about 1 month ago. My older son is 4 and half now, I was thinking to homeschool him after kindergarten. But it turns out, he is stressed, unhappy, and cried almost every morning when we walk him to school. My heart was broken to see him cry, our whole family were stressed & feel not right. We are glad we have made the best decision to keep him at home, where he feels loved, happy & comfortable! There is no turning back! Every reason you listed about I can not agree any more. I wants to read & learn with our children together. I have been a stay home mother since day one. And I really thank God that I am able to watch my children grow day by day 🙂
So after stop our son from school, I am searching net, read about homeschooling info like mad, only can do after children are sleeping (4 yrs old & 1 yr old). We ordered sonlight P4/5, which will arrive tomorrow 🙂 I am looking forward to do this learning journey together!
actually, I am still a bit nervous 🙁 although i know i can and really should relax.
For now, we really enjoying spend every minute at home together 🙂
I love homeschooling and I haven’t even really started yet, lol. I caved to the pressure of putting my first child in school. He has autism and so that was the nay-sayers way in. Basically I made the official decision this last school year that I wanted my 3 yo daughter to homeschool but I had no idea what to do about my son. He was aggressive, he certainly cannot attend the social stuff that we go to right now, and his teachers kept declaring that he was meeting all these goals at school which made me worry that I could not give him the same opportunities at home. I filed a dec of intent and agreed to part time enrollment. But since the summer started we saw some things change. He started sleeping all night, waking up later in the morning, and eating three healthy meals rather than skipping 1 to 2. His aggression stopped and melt downs are less frequent. Depending on the park he can at least go to homeschool park days for 30 to 45 minutes as long as he is on a harness (which gets us awful stares but I know I am doing what is best). When his sister goes to sleep I have plenty of time to work with him in his quiet room. We do apps on his ipad, questions, worksheets, puzzles, etc. I lay out other materials throughout the day that my daughter can easily access, and I just walk him to it and see if he takes any interest.
As hard as it is having him home, I think it forces us to relax and be home more anyway. It forces me to cook more because he does not like quick handy foods. I get to wake up later and not get frustrated with my kids about stalling me out the door.
He is also hilarious. I do not think I could trade any of this for the world. At the beginning of my daughter’s nap today, he removed his pull-up and pooped on his mattress. I remember thinking, man, I might not be doing the therapy/lessons I wanted to work on right now but I sure love every aspect of caring for my kids.
By the way, I made the decision that I will withdraw him rather than do part-time enrollment, and I am not going to send him to summer school because the poor kid needs a vacation! That is the time my hubby can take us.
That’s beautiful! I’m so looking forward to having my own kids to homeschool!
Alyssa Marie Thys’s latest post: Awesome but Underused Girls Names In the Bible
I loved reading your blog post. I am brand new to homeschooling my three kids, ages 10, 13 and 15 yrs old. I’m sort of lost. I ordered curriculum for all of them and it’s good stuff. The only thing is, my youngest son, who I pulled from 4th grade at our public school, is now asking to go back to school. He was the one who asked to be home-schooled in the first place and the other two kids followed suit. I asked him why he wanted to be home-schooled in the first place (trying to get him to remember what he had told me) and he replied, “Because I thought it would be fun.” Now, this momma is on a mission to make the necessary changes to make it fun. We have no intention of sending one child to public school while the other 2 are being schooled at home. I’ve been reading about de-schooling which is taking a long break to allow the kids to decompress from the pressures of the school system and allow them time to rediscover their love for learning. I see value in that but then I have this voice in the back of my head saying, “You pulled them out in the middle of the school year and now they need to make sure they finish the grade they are in!! They are going to get behind!! You are going to ruin their lives and rob them of a good future if you don’t make sure everything gets covered!!” I do not know how to home school my kids in a drastically different way from how the school system does it and still prepare them for whatever they may want to do in the future. They obviously don’t know what that is yet, especially my younger two. What if my child wants to go to college and I haven’t given them enough to prepare them? They would need to score well on the SATs. How can I teach practical, life application methods and cover things like Grammar and Algebra. I mean, it sounds wonderful on the surface but my kids are not in kindergarten-2nd grade. They are older. It would be super fun but what happens when they are ready to face the world and they aren’t prepared? This is my ultimate fear.
I think you raise some great concerns. Can you contact the state home school association of your state and see if they have anyone who can advise you? If you could find a local home school association (usually listed on the state association’s site), I believe someone there could help you know how to transition the kids. Maybe they could give you some practical guidelines or connect you with a mom who did something similar and whose kids are thriving.
I am really struggling these days. I have been homeschooling for seven years. I have loved it and I am so grateful for the opportunity to homeschool my kiddos. My kids are now in 5th, 6th, 10th and 11th grade plus I have a three year old and a one year old. I feel like I’m hitting a wall. I deeply desire to continue to homeschool but my oldest want to go to public school and the others are getting weary of school. Plus one struggles with ADHD really badly and I feel like I’m unable to teach him well as his attention span is so short. And I feel he is getting farther and farther behind.
I feel I was good at the young years and homeschooling was fun but now I feel stressed with high school and making sure we get all the credits that are required, and life is no longer slow, my kids don’t like the schedule. And now that my kids are either teens or almost teens there is so much more attitude and I’m feeling worn. I love my kids and I really don’t like the idea of putting them in public school at all, but I don’t know how to make homeschool work well anymore. If anyone has struggled with this same situation I would love to hear how you dealt with it.