Adventures in Homeschooling!

My decision to homeschool was not by choice, but rather by calling. I remember struggling with the decision to move my daughter from the school she was attending after some personal mishaps. I searched and visited many reputable christian schools, and I found my self in a bind. I recall asking my Heavenly Father for guidance when the "idea" of homeschooling was placed in my heart.

Without having much prior knowledge on what consisted to homeschool, I already had a few preconceived ideas about homeschooled children. In my life I only knew one hand full of children that had been homeschooled, and they seemed pretty "normal" to me....

I searched and investigated this topic further without consulting with my husband. I "thought" that perhaps he would not agree to homeschooling our daughter so I left it in God's hand.

When we had the opportunity to sit and talk about this he was totally on-board to my surprise!

Why to my surprise? Well, even though I was educated in the States, I was born in Cuba (same goes with my hubby) and homeschooling was never heard of!

Now I can joyfully say that we have been doing this for a few months and I feel incredibly blessed.

Not only has the Lord equipped me, but He has arranged for me to be involved in a homeschooling community both on line and in our local groups. And for this I am extremely thankful.

Even though I appreciated and sympathized with my daughter's pre-K teachers, I knew that they could not lead her spiritually the way I can. I also took into consideration the time my daughter would actually spend learning in school and the time that is left for us to be involved as a family. Actual school time is 6 hrs. Actual learning time is 1.5 hours. This time does not include the time a child spends doing daily homework. I can not grasp why a child needs to have homework when they have already spent 6 hrs in school? Which she leads to confirm that they do not learn for the full 6 hours. Where does this leave family time? Weekends only? I did not have a child to spend only weekends with her. I am a hands on involved parent.

It is a fact that with classrooms filled to limits, teachers can not give any child one-on-one attention and your child's needs are often overlooked. With a parent teacher, the child gets to enjoy full attention and his education is catered according to his needs.

Many parents question about socialization issues. To me, this is a non issue. We have plenty of time during our day or week to socialize. My daughter not only gets to interact with adults with daily living experiences but she also attends extra curriculum activities several times a week with out counting weekly field trips and play dates. But the biggest factor I consider is why would I want my daughter to socialize in a school environment where children are exposed to inappropriate behavior and competitive demeanor. I want to set the environment where she will learn to live life in a Christian manner.

I know that homeschooling is a path that not every christian family will under take. And I know that most families need a second income to sustain themselves. But I also know that with a few sacrificial financial adjustments and tight restrictions this task can be fulfilled. You need to consider what is best for your child and ultimately for your family.

I have peace and joy to be my daughter's spiritual and academic teacher, guide, and leader. My daughter can be a child without the added stress that a regular "school" environment brings. She is able to learn real life lessons and we cherish our family time together. She is not looked on as a letter grade or a GPA. She is not looked on for her FCAT test results. This by any measure does not mean she will be dumbed down. She will not be academically challenged because there is wonderful and easily accessible curriculums out there that we have a strong academic base. All you need to do is research and see what works best for your learning/teaching style.

Another misperception is that you need to have tons of patience. Well for starters we all have patience when we learn how to put it to practice. Again, depend on God for this. He will give you everything you need.

This is a journey that is full filling and fun as we learn and bond together how to establish what works for us as a family.

Just be obedient and follow God's lead.

Many blessings.