January 20, 2022

Are you considering homeschooling?

We still homeschool our four daughters. Our oldest is graduating this May. I am exceptionally satisfied with the resources available to successfully homeschool children. Besides using traditional curriculum, we have tapped the resources and knowledge of friends, family, our local community, and wonderful internet teachers. Because we homeschool, there have been no gaps in instruction due to Covid the last two years.

If you have the time, dedication, and desire, homeschooling your children provides the best opportunity for the best education for your children. It will be tailored to their learning speed, their learning style, the rhythm of the year’s activities, and their learning goals. Our eldest daughter is just one example of what a homeschooled student’s academic and extra-curricular life can look like: fluency in three languages, math work through calculus, science work through physics, proficiency in playing an instrument, solid background in reading, writing, and history, excelling at volleyball and advancing to the State championships, hanging out with friends and family, and following her own interests.

I, like schools, have had 13 years and about 8 hours a day to teach a very special person. A lot can be accomplished in that time, and if you want your child’s learning to be prepared specifically for him or her, go for it. If you are considering homeschooling, I encourage you. If you have any questions, I am happy to share our family’s experience. Homeschooling does not mean you have to do everything as a parent! It means you explore your resources and match them up with the needs of your child’s education.

PS: I have not written for a long time due to helping actively in my children’s activities locally, and also Covid has had me sitting back, watching and figuring out my place in life. But as my daughter approaches graduation, I wanted people out there who may be wondering if homeschooling is a good educational option, to know that it IS a great educational option! I watch my friends’ kids struggle to keep up with all the changes and rules of institutionalized education, especially the last two years, and I am thrilled we started homeschooling and kept at it. I want homeschooling to continue to always be an option in the USA because it has allowed my daughter(s) to have the education that I could only have dreamed of as a teenager. (By the way, I would be remiss to say we homeschooled alone, and I am grateful for every single resource in our community that we have utilized, including public and private school resources. Local and regional cooperation makes homeschooling where I live fantastic.)

Lastly, greetings to old internet acquaintances who may see this. I hope your lives are wonderful. Live locally and develop relationships if you can, beyond controversy. LIVE where you ARE. GIVE where you LIVE. —Terri F