Top 4 Reasons for Wanting to Homeschool

I’m writing this list mainly to clarify my own thinking about homeschool. I’m hoping this will help me identify the root of my desire so that I can focus my prayers even more and be open to whatever God has planned for us.

1. A love of learning.
   As a normal toddler my son loves to learn and seems to soak up new knowledge and skills like a sponge. I want to encourage that enthusiasm for learning and exploration. I’m concerned that his enthusiasm could easily be discouraged or extinguished in a classroom where the attitude and quality of the teacher could vary greatly.
2. Less bullying and negative influence from peers.
   There are many opportunities for homeschooled children to socialize with other children and adults, in a context that doesn’t lead to bullying or being overly influenced by peers. This is becoming increasingly difficult to prevent in the classroom. Homeschooling also allows a lot more interaction with children of different ages.
3. More quality time with my son.
   Even now with my son in full-time daycare I am missing so much time with him. I’m concerned that if he attends school this will get even worse because of the strict schedule.  Our mornings will be rushing to get ready for school and our evenings full of dinner prep and homework. Our time to play together and explore will be greatly reduced.
4. Flexibility with time and what we learn. Homeschooling takes much less time than kids spend in a classroom and school work can be done at anytime. There is no penalty for being tardy or absent. The flexibility of curriculum and pace of study is even more exciting to me. If my son excels in one area we can delve more deeply or move more quickly through the material. If he’s struggling with something we can slow down or put it aside for awhile.

I’ll be praying specifically about these reasons over the next few days.