Why I am Homeschooling my children and more:

Since I will be "officially" starting this Fall, Luk's schooling, I wanted to share why my husband and I decided to school our children at home. I first want to start with my selfish reasoning behind it: I want to be home with my boys. I want to spend my days with them.

 Who wouldn't want to spend everyday with these kids? Precious!

Yes, I just finished getting my Bachelor's degree in English Literature, however my dream in life has been to be a wife and stay-at-home mom. Back story on my education: My husband always knew that getting my degree was a foundation for if anything unforeseeable where to happen in our lives. However, if God blessed us with good health, a home, and a job for Reson, I would stay home with the boys. If anything were to happen to Reson in terms of health or job, I could support the family. With that being said, we never even thought about homeschooling until Luk was about a year old.

There were two main reasons that I brought it up to Reson.
1) I knew I could do it. I WANTED to do it! 2) I want my children to learn from me.
Now, what this told my husband was: 1) It was not something that I felt forced to do. 2) He knew that our boys would learn the moral/spiritual life that we wanted for them.

His NUMBER ONE OBJECTIVE: SOCIALIZATION!!!
My response: LAME!

If you ask my mom, "What was the number one reason Aislynn got in trouble in school?" She would respond, "TALKING!" During lunch, I would get sent to the silent table because I was talking too loud, and during class I would get my stick pulled for talking to my neighbor. So, what did I tell the husband with his objective? "Are you kidding me?" I got in trouble everyday for socializing. I won!

When people use this as excuse, I laugh. It's a lazy answer. Do you not talk to your kids? Do your kids not talk to you? When you go to the market, do your kids not see what it means to hold a conversation with other people? Do you not teach the behavior, values, and norms that you want your child to learn? The term "socialization" means "a continuing process whereby an individual acquires a personal identity and learns the norms, values, behavior, and social skills appropriate to his or her social position." Yeah... I'm pretty sure you can hit all those points at home, trips to the market, library, church... ANYWHERE. Are we confusing "socialization" with "talking." If there is one thing I learned from attending public school, they did NOT teach me the values and social skills I want my boys to learn.

Let me break this down because I think this would help any family that is thinking about homeschooling fight this ridiculous "con":
Personal Identity: In my home, my husband and myself know our boys' identity better than anyone else. Public school - A teacher that only begins to know my real son at the end of the year when he must move on to another grade and teacher. Bottom line - I can flourish their real identity better than anyone.
Learns the norms: What are "norms"? They are standards. Public school - Teach curriculum to 20+ students, make sure they pass a test, and those are the standards. Bottom line - My standards go beyond testing. I have a standard that you be a man of God. I have a standard that you love your neighbor as yourself. I have a standard that you respect ALL people. I have a standard that you learn at your own pace.
Values/Behaviors: Does this really need explanation? Public school - No teacher will teach my boys the values and behavior I expect. No PEER will teach my boys the values and behavior that our Heavenly Father expects.  Bottom line - My husband and I will teach the values and behavior expected.
Social Skills: meaning - communication/interaction. Public School: I learned that I couldn't talk without getting in trouble. I also learned that if a teacher didn't agree with me I got in trouble. In this area, my mom got called a lot from my school. By the time I got to high school, it was a good thing she worked there because I would just go to her room. =) Bottom line - My sons can speak their minds, share their thoughts, and we can talk to each other.
The next time someone says, "But what about socialization?" You can proudly say, I will be teaching my children the socialization they deserve because they will learn to socialize the way I expect them to. You may also want to make sure they know what that word means!
Bottom line - Homeschooling is the perfect environment for socialization!

This leads to our overall reasoning behind homeschooling the boys. We believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our salvation. He died so that we may spend eternity with Him. God commanded that as parents, we teach our children in the way that they should go, which is to be men of God. I want my boys to learn about sex, relationships, communication, science, reading, EVERYTHING from our worldview, Christianity.
1) I am homeschooling to teach my boys the will and plan that God has for their lives. If they want want to be astronauts. GREAT! Let's discuss how God create this grand universe.  You want to be a farmer, a traveler? Let's discuss the intricate detail on how plants make this planet livable, or we can talk about how God created people of all cultures with many languages.
2) I am homeschooling because I can. God gave me the gift to be a mother and teacher. I can teach my children what they need.
3) I am homeschooling because I feel led now more than ever.  Our world is getting a little crazy. We have our priorities all mixed up.

I would like to clarify that with this I can teach my boys about the world, but in the way I feel Christ would have me to do so. Reson and I do not seclude the boys. Luk watches movies and T.V. Yes, I read Harry Potter, and he will read them, too. Yes, he watched "The Princess and the Frog" and learned that following the ways evilness leads to a life not in Heaven. Everything that this world has is a learning experience. If there is anyone I want my boys to hear the truth from, it is from my husband and me. I think this would sum up my thought processes...