Why We Choose to Homeschool

With so many options for educating children, from charter and magnet schools to virtual and public schools, why do we choose to homeschool? More families are turning to homeschool during this pandemic for safety and alternative to the new health regulations. We started homeschooling before the pandemic. Discover the top reasons we choose to homeschool, including details about my educational upbringing, potential costs, curriculum usage, and more.

LEARNING MADE EASY

I experienced multiple educational environments. My childcare started with in-home daycare and church school, followed by a first-grade magnet school and various public school experiences. My mother homeschooled me for one year in which I completed two years worth of learning. Then thanks to dual credit courses in high school, I graduated at sixteen with nearly one year of college under my belt.

In the years that followed finishing K-12, I reflected on my experiences and what knowledge I had gained. Overall I felt like I could have obtained this knowledge in much less time. It seemed as though the real educational experiences started when I graduated! My interests and curiosities were, at last able to be my focus. The school system no longer focused me on uninteresting classes and lessons I would not use for the rest of my life, like dissecting a pig. The mandatory courses such as Spanish, Art, and English would have been exciting subjects if presented with less pressure to be the best instantly and more about my teachers just offering assistance in my natural intrigue. Those forced book reads and long formal essays were miserable. Yet, at a very young age, I wrote and dabbled in art passionately. Once I graduated, these passions started to come back.

By my early twenties, I pursued learning what I was interested in, and it was EASY. School had been tedious and dull, but this was now a whole new world. I was an adult and finally free to learn anything. I studied guitar and drumming basics and learned more Spanish than I ever retained in school. I researched the Bible, and various history topics, then finished my college studies focused on childcare development. I traveled to many places around the world. After working all kinds of jobs, my interest in finances grew. Around this time, I discovered excellent tools like Audible books and Youtube channels. With these, I pursued knowledge in other areas of interest, such as how to garden, nutritional eating habits, holistic health options, training animals, and much more about all things child-related. Just think of the time saved had I been able to pursue these curiosities and interests sooner. Instead of tests and forced subjects, I could have been setting myself up for the future I started to create after graduation. Homeschool is a one-on-one opportunity to help my children explore and focus on their interests and talents instead of wasting all that time. We can create more family memories rather than less

Not all schools are created equal. Good teachers, who strive to identify strengths and are passionate about helping students excel in life, can be found in various institutions. However, increasing classroom sizes are spreading teachers too thin to focus on individuals. Most available options for education seem to be more about performance, testing, and getting the masses ready to work for a boss for the rest of their life. Rather than the illusion of having a student's best interest at heart, homeschooling allows the child's number one fan to help them discover what to pursue in life, their purpose, and to prepare for their future.

There is no comparison of an educator to the genuine love that flows in a parent-child relationship. Part of parenthood is craving the best for your children. When parents choose to make educating family their responsibility, who better is there to tune into and observe a child's strengths, abilities, and interests. School systems are full of distractions from each child's best interest. It is a business that must succeed, which means there is high prioritization of test scores, teacher turnover rates, and public perceptions that get in the way of what your child needs. With homeschooling, a parent's responsibility as the educator is to consider what is best for each child. Unless we are all robots, why are we all taking the same classes regardless of our differences? Are we all going to have the same future? Homeschooling begs the question, what does each individual need to learn to be successful and happy in life?

GIVE ME FREEDOM

For our tribe, the term homeschooling means freedom. We decide what to prioritize, how to structure our days, and what flow of learning works best. It does not mean staring at another institution's curriculum and checklist for us. It is not merely doing public school work in the place we call home.

We prioritize learning as a family. It allows for specializing each child's interests to strengthen their natural abilities, understand their unique purpose, and pursue learning with passion and diligence. Here is an example of Thaddeus assisting with tummy time as he spoke to Titus and showed him how a wooden dog on wheels moved across the rug.

Although there are countless approaches to educating young minds, our approach adapts with age, readiness, and natural curiosity. Homeschooling is a journey that differs for every family. In this article, I only hope to give a clear idea of the Tiffy Tom Tribe way of homeschooling.

HOME ENVIRONMENT

In our home, everyone partakes in taking care of the house and each other. If someone sees a need, they are strongly encouraged to do something about it. Thaddeus, my oldest son, takes care of his belongings, including his toys, books, and clothes. He enthusiastically volunteers to help with his baby brother and chores. We function as a team to consistently contribute to each other's overall wellbeing and environment.

Success requires dedication and motivation. Otherwise, it will seem easier to allow someone else the task of educating your children. There will be challenges. When challenges arise, stay calm, and problem solve. As my Grandpa always said, "If there's a will, there's a way." I think some of the biggest deterrents of homeschooling are the change in mindset from traditional schooling, the self-discipline required, and finding the routine that flows best for your family's dynamics.

Our home environment encourages frequent interactions with each other in the backyard and in a naturally lit room dedicated to playing. We engage in regular physical and mental activity, responsibility, and teamwork. Schools with a similar set up still cannot compare to the family attentiveness and flexibility involved in homeschooling. A parent or guardian has way more dedication and interest in their own child's life than a teacher who has even a smaller than average classroom size

WORTH THE NECESSARY SACRIFICES

Even with a passion for homeschooling, there have been sacrifices made for it to be possible. Some of my sacrifices are waking up before the kids to work on personal goals, going to bed after them to prepare for the next day's activities, and only working in positions that enable home and family life every day. You can choose to homeschool with determination and motivation even if you are working full-time since you can schedule dedicated educational time at a time best suited for your family's needs. The freedom is in your hands to teach every other day, only on weekends, four days a week, or even in the evenings instead. If you want to teach outside, inside, in a dedicated room, or on your roof, you can! You get to decide what is best for your family's learning and bonding needs.

PERSONALIZED LEARNING VALUE

My children have a specialized educational experience because of the focus they get as homeschoolers. I can dedicate more time to them than the teacher with many students. I can fine-tune what we learn based on their specific interests and talents. I can help my children at their pace. When they grasp a concept, we can continue without waiting for a class to catch up. If they struggle with a concept, we can spend time creatively exploring ways to master it. If I do not feel confident enough about teaching a topic, I can seek another homeschool parent to help or even hire a tutor to inform us together on the matter.

Sometimes we can study topics as a family even with different ages involved. For example, if we choose to research fire trucks, all of us can explore books on this topic, visit a fire station, and paint fire truck pictures at the same time. My four year old will understand words that my infant is only hearing while being cuddled. The visit will come to life with some hands-on interactions for one, while the other will be seeing a new environment and have curiosity alerted. With painting, one child will get to try his creations of a fire truck, while the other has his foot painted for the framework of a fire truck picture made, but the end result is that everyone gets involved and works together as we learn more.

This kind of personalized focus and attention into my children's lives will help them understand their natural talents and pursue their interests with the time a school teacher doesn't have to give. I believe that this is what the book of Proverbs means about training up a child in the way they should go so that when they are old, they will not depart from it. God gave us each value. Like the parable of the Talents, we are to steward over the God-given abilities and unique talents created within us as individuals. What better way to lead your children in discovering their path than to homeschool?

DECIDING THE COST

Given the valuable memories and dedicated, personalized learning homeschoolers have, I consider the cost to be exceptionally more affordable than what you would pay for your child to experience the equivalent from a hired professional. Of course, you can invest money to any degree in your child's upbringing. Some families prefer to join homeschool groups nearby or have private tutors come. The average family spends $300-$600 per year per child on homeschool materials. However, with creativity and resourcefulness, education can be much cheaper, even free if need be. We do not need workbooks and teaching tools, although they can be beneficial. Technically the alphabet and numbers could be taught by writing with your finger in the dirt, placing nature items in the shapes of letters, and using a stick as a writing tool to work on pencil grip and fine motor skills. You can also do counting and sorting using what resources are available. The possibilities are endless. Also, take advantage of the free classes available at your local library and social spots. I find the value and cost options to be a huge reason we choose to homeschool. What will you decide?

CURRICULUMS AND CONCLUSION

As for curriculums, we have tried several. There was a time I followed curriculum plans at home. I dare say we started off bringing the classroom home. Things have quickly become more experimental and free-flowing with practice. I still enjoy some subscription boxes like Kiwi Crate. Get more information about what we do without a full curriculum, daily routine, and house arrangement in How We Homeschool.

We had to embrace homeschooling freedom before it started working well and being fun for everyone involved. I encourage you to give your family permission to do the same. In short, we choose to homeschool for the family experiences regained, the love of learning, the freedom to live a different lifestyle that involves regular travel, and the out of the box possibilities for our tribe's future