WHY Do I Homeschool?
Update August 2023: this concept of knowing why is still prominent in my mind through each season and three years after writing this I am grateful to say my “why’s” for home educating have stayed the same!
I've seen looks of pity, confusion, and also admiration when people hear that we educate our children at home. When the COVID-19 crisis started, families became homeschoolers overnight, and goodness, being pushed onto a path you didn't choose is frustrating.
If you are celebrating your district’s reopening of schools or are in a different season of life, please translate this conversation to a situation where you need to define your WHY.
Homeschooling isn't for everyone, and it may not be for us or one of our children every year either, but we all can know WHY we are doing what we are doing—whatever it is!
I'll share how we homeschool in a future post but today I am sharing my why!
Why wait until your wedding night to engage in sex or commit to financial freedom and generosity when you could have 'it all' now?
Why wake up early to push your body when you could sleep late and eat cookie dough all day?
What's the point of waiting, sacrificing or disciplining your life when the wider roads appear easier with instant gratification at every turn?
Knowing WHY propels us to persevere on roads less traveled as we encounter roadblocks and rough terrain. Remember, the beaten paths look easy, but the destination could be disastrous!
Simon Sinek, in his book Start With Why says, "people who come to work with a clear sense of WHY are less prone to giving up after a few failures because they understand the higher cause."
Is there a decision you are trying to make, a path you are starting or feeling lost on? Google has all the how-tos we could ever want, but only we can run our own search to define our why!
Why did I begin on this path?
Did I make intentional decisions to get here or did I follow the crowd?
What has God revealed to me on this path?
Why am I still on this path?
In Proverbs 29:18 it says, "If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; but when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed." MSG
One road less traveled is homeschooling. Our six children only know home as their school!
Here are four reasons why I homeschool:
1. Dream
I homeschool because God gave me this desire!
To the reluctant, converted or obligated homeschool moms who fell into it, or in a way were forced into it for the needs of your children or family, please don’t feel bad if this was never a dream—I’m a minority here.
At a young age, I decided I would get my education degree to teach overseas or (if I were to marry) teach my children!
Even though I anticipated this for our children, there was a season where I wrestled through the decision—partly out of fear of what people would think.
I attended a homeschool convention, applied for my daughter to attend a Christian school, interviewed veterans, talked it over with my husband, friends, family, and God ad nauseam. Even though my daughter did make the lottery draw for kindergarten at the Christian school, I kept her home, knowing this was best for her and our family for that first year.
There was a sense of peace to proceed and this has continued season after season!
2. Freedom
Grades 3-7 of my childhood were spent homeschooling.
Freedom captivated my heart as I ran through our acreage fields imagining I was one of the characters in my latest novel, or interviewing imaginary guests with my cassette player and leading a workout show on my cross-country skis or trampoline for my pretend TV audience—did you know I did this mom? Yes, homeschoolers can be a little weird—now you don’t have to say it!
I enjoyed my return to the big Christian school around the corner from our acreage in grade eight. The opportunities in band, choir, drama, and sports were wonderful, and I was on the honour roll, but life was busier, and I had less free time to enjoy spaces of reflection and creativity in late junior high and high school.
I also noticed I didn't fit in with the crowd.
3. Stand
Homeschooling solidified my ability to stand alone.
In a broken, divisive and dark world I want my children to bring healing, hope and light!
When our children know who they are as individuals and can stand alone, I have confidence they will take roads less traveled. I do not want their precious growing-up years to be distracted by the desire to conform—and while I did feel some of that pressure, in many ways, I stood alone.
In grade six, I was baptized and finished that school year fundraising, planning, and training for a three-week trip to Mexico City with a YWAM team—I had just turned 12. My parents released me to raise money, travel three hours away on weekends for training, and fly six hours away because I was on a mission.
The years progressed, and my confidence to stand alone continued, from calling my parents to pick me up from a movie that was starting on the wrong path when I was 14 to confronting a university drama instructor to say I would not participate in the dark rituals at the start of our class warm-up when I was 21.
As our children pursue their paths in their developing years—perhaps starting a business, serving in ministry, or pouring hours into a passion—they will grow confident to contribute beauty, light, and hope to this world. Their heart matters to me a whole lot more than their academic achievements.
I want them to be equipped for ground breaking, history making, and world changing!
Small goals, right?
4. Together
We all crave peace-filled lives, but there is pain and joy on life's roads.
What a gift to spend my days walking closely and sharing deeply with my precious family—no matter what challenges and heartaches come our way.
Home education is an inspiring lifestyle where we can choose our pace and cater to the season of life our family is in. Some families have weathered immense tragedy by drawing close and allowing homeschooling to aid in their healing.
I’ve appreciated working within our family's ideal times and rhythms through pregnancies and births.
I can’t think of anything more beautiful than spending our years together learning, traveling, connecting, resting and investing.
As hard as some moments, days, and even seasons have felt, homeschooling has revealed my need to grow in God so that I can grow my family in Him.
The challenging times are gifts!
When I look at our ideal destination, I know there is no guarantee all our children will stay on roads less traveled and live with their lives surrendered to God—oh how I long for this—but I pray that the paths we walk on together now, will guide and remind their hearts of Him later!
As you prepare for this next season, walk with intention, asking and defining your WHY with each decision!
Proverbs 37: 23-24 says, "The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand." NLT
I find comfort in knowing that even while being intentional (defining my why and figuring out my best how) I can still hold everything with open hands—trusting the Holy Spirit to guide my next step!
So tell me:
WHY are you doing what you are doing?
I can’t wait to hear!
Download this homeschool vision sheet on our resource page!
