Why Homeschool?

This is the question posed to us more than any other, and I have no doubt that it will continue to be.  In short, it is the best decision for our children.  The inital request was made by our oldest daughter after seeing the behaviors that were tolerated in the local high school.  It is not a request that we took lightly and after much thought as a family we decided the best move for her was learning at home.  Originally, we tried to utilize a virtual school program in our state, but due to the lack of cooperation of the local school officials we were not able to meet deadlines for enrollment into the virtual school program.  Being quite set about not continuing with public school, Krista became offically homeschooled on October 1, 2009.   We began to use our own combination of homeschooling styles, utilizing what works best for us.  Soon after, our younger daughter, Sydnee, began to ask about being homeschooled as well.  We came to realize that more effort was being put into disipline that into providing a well-rounded education program - over 50 percent of 5th graders had all-day Saturday detentions the second month of school.  Again, more thought was put into this and she became officially homeschooled on November 1, 2009.

So, why do we homeschool? Because we are focusing on the needs and desires of our children as individuals - not as an alloted funding amount as certain public school officials.  Because different children need to be taught differently, and stacks of worksheets do not teach.  Because no one can care more about whether or not our children succeed in life than we can.  Because disipline should not be utilized for the masses, but for the indivdual who needs it. Because the public school system is failing our chilren in so many ways.  Because creative teaching may be more work than creating stacks of assignments, but it better educates our children.  Or, in short, because this is the best decision for our children.