Jim and I have been talking A LOT about homeschooling v. preschool/public schools. Having worked in public schools and seeing first-hand what the learning environment is really like and researching homeschooling thoroughly, I absolutely want to homeschool for many reasons. We still have not made the final decision, but here is a list of reasons why I want to continue being my children's teacher.
*My educational philosophy is and has always been, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." ~William Butler Yeats
*continue instilling in my children that learning is life and let them explore their world around them with a curiosity that cannot be fulfilled in the classroom
*"To form in his child right habits of thinking and behaving is a parent's chief duty...To nourish a child daily with loving, right, and noble ideas we believe to be the parent's next duty." ~Charlotte Mason
*to point to God in everything we do and everything we learn, all day long
*to create a tight family unit that learns together, plays together, enjoys life together
*to utilize Jim's knowledge as an engineer to do projects with the girls and help them with their math
*to let my girls play outside all day long as much as possible in the early years
*to develop their character and help them to learn to think for themselves
*the opportunity to watch the girls interact with each other and become close friends
*to avoid the way the federal government is trying to take over the education of our children and turn them into robots whose only goal in life is to compete in a global market...that should not be our only goal in life.
*My ultimate goal for them in life is to know Jesus as their Savior and be a blessing to others
I am following and would continue to follow the teachings of Charlotte Mason, an educator from England in the late 1800s. Go to simplycharlottemason.com to learn more about her.
*to snuggle on the couch with my girls and read as many great books as possible and use them as the springboard for learning art, history, geography, science, math concepts...the possibilities are endless!
We would read living books and do literature studies, nature studies, math as it relates to life, copywork, narration, dictation, Bible stories and memory verses...I absolutely love learning alongside my children!
As far as socialization, they go to...
*playgroup
*Sunday school
*Mom's group, which is set up just like preschool time
*small group
*tumbling
*the pool
*the park
*storytime at the library
*a homeschool group
*playing with the neighborhood kids
They come across many different kids and adults in these settings and, in my opinion, don't need a forced classroom situation to learn to be social.
Is this the easy option? No. I have struggled during these preschool years. But when I think about how quickly my girls are growing up, I don't want to miss out on learning alongside them.