Simple Hobby Homesteading

I’m guessing some of you read this blog post so you could start formulating your “How dare you tell me what I should do” letter to me while others read out of sheer curiosity. Alas, the majority of you read because I am still in the infancy of my blogging and most of my readers consist of friends and family… yes, my family, you are totally obligated to read my posts… mostly to see if I mention any of you! Thank You God for a big family!

Why should every parent homeschool? The answer is beautiful and simple…

You should homeschool because you already do and to quit would be to cease being a parent!

It is time to peel the stigma away from what most think of when they hear “homeschooling.” I’m hoping to give you a glimpse of our own homeschooling journey to show you how I was just as much of a teacher to my sons while they were in “brick and mortar” schools as I am now that they are not.

Our oldest son went to public school from kindergarten through fifth grade because I was active duty Air Force and my husband worked full time. He went to public schools in Germany (that’s where he started and they refused to speak English to him… talk about a steep learning curve, but it was so amazing for him and he soon became my little translator for our 90 year old German landlord who refused to believe I was anything but a nurse on the German air force base! I was not a nurse.). We experienced the public school system with that son in Germany, Nebraska, California, Wisconsin, and Indiana… we’ve been around.

Compare that to our youngest son who only attended half day kindergarten in public school and you get the basis of our oldest son’s common comment that his younger brother is more loved (not true…I’m adding this becuase they both often read this blog and I want to remind them that they are loved equally… you are both loved equally!). Apparently our oldest thought public school was some sort of punishment… not sure where that ever came from but I’m guessing it had something to do with the 6:45am bus stop.

My husband and I have educated our sons from the moment they were born as you have done with your children. Learning how to obery, respect others, and communicate effectively came from parents or parent figures for the majority of us. How to tie shoes… yup, parents. How to eat… yup, parents. Make their bed… you guessed it, parents. How to ride a bike… yup, parents. However, my best friend Minnette taught my oldest to ride a bike because I was horrible at teaching that skill (to say frustration and hesitancy do not mix well is an understatement) and to this day I still apologize to my oldest son for my tone of voice and words that day.

The fact that I reached out to another to help teach my kids in an area that I was ill equipped brings up a great point. Parents do not teach their children in a vacuum. Just as parents who teach all, or the majority, of their children’s academics at home do not do so in a vacuum. We all reach out to others when help is needed so in that way we are more alike than we are different. What have you had “outside help” in teaching your kids?

We have always been very active in our kids’ education. Kevin is the go to math, computer programming and history nut (as well as mathemtaical based sciences… physics etc.) while I tackle language arts, biological and chemistry based sciences, foreign languages, and well… everything else. We were in the kids’ public school classrooms often helping and enjoying the interaction. We sat at the table with the kids when homework was being done at night to see what they were learning and be on hand should they have needed help. I did plenty of projects “for them” because I wanted them to get a good grade and impress their teachers. We fought about “our way” of doing things versus “the teacher’s way” and most often lost to the “teacher’s way” even though we thought to the very core of our being that our way was the best. We read, read, and read some more. With our kids, to our kids, and having them read to us. This has been a staple in our family from day one and really is a blessing if it is in your home as well.

I became a stay at home mom after my medical retirement from the air force and we moved to Indiana. I really liked the public school system here because it allowed for parents to be very involved in their child’s education both in school and after school. The teachers showed a genuine interest in getting to know our kids and would often report how much they enjoyed having them in class (bear with me here, I’m not putting my kids on any sort of pedastal). Our boys were raised to say, “yes ma’am, no ma’am, yes sir, and no sir” throughout their whole life (gotta love the military) and the teachers in these “civilian” sections of the nation seemed to really love and eat this up (Wisconsin, Indiana etc. The other schools were always on or near a military base so the teachers were used to the yes ma’am etc.).

Then we noticed a disturbing trend… our sons were learning (quickly) to manipulate their teachers and the system. If they were quiet, respectful, and helpful (without being pushy) the teachers would lower the standards for them and let them get away with more.

Our sons have always had horrid handwriting (no secret, they know this). We work on it and work on it but to little improvement unless they take 10 minutes to carefully write one word (nope, not even I have the patience for that and it’s not practical). In public school my oldest son’s teacher would actually call him up to ask him what his answer said because she could not read it. He would try to read his own writing (many times he could not) and the teacher would let him get away with it without marking it wrong because he was so kind, polite, and followed along in class well. She mentioned this during a conference. We talked to our son and found out he wasn’t even trying to write legibly because he didn’t have to and got it right. He admitted in fact that sometimes if he didn’t know the answer he wrote “super sloppy” so she couldn’t read it… apparently she always gave him the benefit of the doubt. Well played son, well played.

This was the straw that broke the camels back so to say. We weren’t mad at the teacher, we were unhappy with our son’s attitude and choices. We thought we had taught our son to do what is true and right regardless if others expect it of you or not. Your actions are not determined by another’s. Just because his teacher let him get away with something does not mean he should continue in that behavior. Both of our sons had learned that all that was necessary at school was the bare minimum. Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous and proof that our work ethic training was not carrying through to time away from us at school.

It was at that moment I finally agreed to Kevin’s longtime plea that we pull the boys out of public school and take it to the home. It turned out to be the best decision of our lives and the lives of our boys. We are on year five and I am actually teaching a high schooler *gasp*! Our boys are learning work ethic, compassion, and good decision making now all day, every day, at a time in their lives when their brains are developing rapidly and outside influences truly have a huge effect on them. We are controlling the influences they are surrounded by as much as we can during this time of development so when they are adults and their judgment and impulse control are better cultivated they will have already developed good habits and sound decision making in their maturity.

Not every kid needs this type of intense structure and guidance. Our kids do. There are parents who work their tail ends off in the time that their kids are home to instill these things and their kids carry them through to their school days. I know so many kids like this and I love to be around them and learn with and from them. There are also kids who are naturally more mature, focused, and able to succeed easily in whatever they put their minds to and their parents encourage them in ways that are absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. Love these kids as well!

My point is, every kid is different just as every family is different. Just don’t assume that parents pull their kids out of school and tackle academics at home because they think their kids are better than yours or the school system is horrible (though truth be told with standardized testing and common core I may be leaning more towards horrible the more I see of it).

Below are the top reasons we homeschool

• Instill work ethic in our children
• Teach creation (Bible) based academics
• To be together as a family
• To guide our sons decision making at a time of great cerebral development
• To teach each child based on their learning style
• To link what we teach to real world application
• Flexibility in schedules and traveling
• To pursue passions and interests with ease and excitement
• To ensure proper rest, exercise, and nutrition for growing boys (and the whole family)
• To socialize MORE with varied peer groups and people of all different race, age, and culture
• Increased community involvement

If you look at that list you will find that you, as a parent, are filling a lot of those boxes with your kids as well regardless if they are in public, private, or home school. Homeschooling just works well for our family because we were not capable of filling those boxes above when our kids were in public school.

I’d love to hear what led you to homeschooling, how you fill thses boxes with kids in public school, and/or myths/questions you have about homeschooling! Comment here!

Keep on keeping on and HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING! (yes I know I shouted that)!

Jhenna