we homeschool now

This year, we made the decision to homeschool our kiddos.  Caleb had been attending our local public school until now, and honestly, we loved the school and had a really good experience.  He had some wonderful teachers while he was there, and we will be forever grateful for them!  Our decision was not due to anything negative at all, but there were quite a few factors that played a part.

- Caleb was doing well academically, but some things were becoming more of a challenge for him.  Math and reading comprehension were two areas that were a bit concerning for us.  We wanted to be able to work with him directly and really tailor his education according to his needs.  We also had some concerns with the way in which some things were being taught.  We felt that a lot of things were being made more complicated and confusing - unnecessarily so.

- Some days, there was a lot of homework.  While I understand the need for homework at times, there were so many days when Caleb would get home from school, have a quick snack, do homework, have dinner, get ready for bed, and go to sleep.  He would get so upset about having homework and how long it took, and he would then be grumpy about everything else that night.  And quite honestly, I couldn't blame him!  He wanted, and needed, time to play, and we wanted that for him.

- We started to feel more and more convicted about sending him to spend a majority of his day in a place where God isn't really spoken of.  I could say so much more about this and our thoughts on it, but the bottom line is - we love Jesus, and our greatest hope and prayer for our children is that they know and love Him too.  Caleb is now able to learn about science from a biblical viewpoint, or talk about historical events and consider how they were orchestrated by God.  We are able to begin each school day with a prayer, or have a spontaneous prayer if we need to regroup and adjust attitudes, end sibling squabbles, or if we simply just want to!

- We want more time.  Caleb is coming up on nine years old and Makayla is six.  We know that Ashlynn will be running alongside them before we know it.  Time is fleeting, y'all, and I don't ever want to look back and feel like we rushed through these days.  Don't get me wrong - homeschooling is a lot of work, and in a lot of ways it added so much more to my to-do list.  But I feel like the biggest difference now is the quality of our time, not just the quantity.  Our days typically feel less rushed and less busy, and we have been very selective in what things we commit to that will take up our time or pull us away from home.

There are a million other reasons that we made the decision to homeschool, but these are the main ones for us.  We just celebrated our 100th day of school, and I can absolutely say that I think that we've made the right decision for our family.  I know that homeschooling is not for everyone, and that's ok!  I know that our reasons may not resonate or apply to some families at all, and that's ok too!  I do know that this is where our family is today.  This is what we feel God has called us to, and we are thankful for this homeschooling journey that we're on.  We are taking it day by day, year by year, and doing our best to cherish each and every moment!