What Does Homeschooling Mean to Me? Freedom.

As most of you who have read my blog before know, I’ve got a lot to say about homeschooling. To be quite honest, that’s just a bit of an understatement because, well, I never seem to shut up about it. 😛

When I decided to try to sum up our homeschool in just one word, however, I found that it was extremely difficult for me. The problem was, lots of words came to mind, like: simple, relaxed, literary, eclectic, busy; and while all of these words fit our homeschool well, none of them adequately convey an all-encompassing description of what homeschooling means to me. (Watch my video here.)

Until I thought of freedom.

“Freedom” is a word that gets thrown around here in the United States quite a bit. And, yes, we are so fortunate for the liberties afforded to us; yet, when I think of the government education system, freedom is the last word that comes to mind.

In contrast, freedom is precisely the word I think of when I consider our homeschool. And it comes in two separate categories for me: the “Freedom from” category, and “Freedom to.”

So sit down, have a cup of coffee, and let me share with you the myriad of ways that homeschooling has truly freed us.

Homeschooling is…

Freedom from:

• having to walk my kids to school in the rain.
• daily school traffic.
• bad outside influences.
• curriculum that goes against our values.
• the test prep culture.
• God-awful early morning hours.
• having to rush through lunch.
• bomb threats.
• bullies.
• peer pressure.
• an education system that doesn’t work.
• homework.
• fundraisers.
• picture day.
• PTA meetings.
• the early morning rush to get ready.
• the after-school crankiness.
• parent/teacher conferences.
• lice.
• constant illnesses.
• having to get permission to take my kids on a trip.
• school lockdowns.
• political correctness.
• trying to fit the child to the curriculum instead of the other way around.
• graduation projects.
• disruptive classmates.
• did I say lice?
• IEP meetings.
• feeling like a secondary parent.
• my kids being a part of one giant social engineering experiment.
• I said lice, right??
• government and societal indoctrination.

Freedom to:

• start school at 10.
• learn about what we want.
• learn how we want.
• make a second home of the library.
• choose our own curriculum.
• consider using no curriculum at all.
• tailor activities to meet each child’s needs.
• allow kids to develop at their own pace.
• take sun days along with snow days.
• take the day off for birthdays.
• bake a cake for math.
• read all day if we want.
• actually go in the creek.
• go outside everyday.
• spend hours in nature.
• not finish a curriculum. (For more on this, watch my video.)
• drop what isn’t working.
• read the Bible together.
• be ourselves.
• question scientific theories that are untouchable in school.
• instill Judeo-Christian values.
• recognize absolute truth.
• forego textbooks for living books.

Most people would never consider using the words “public education” and “freedom” in the same sentence, unless it was to point out the lack of freedom. Homeschooling has not only allowed my children to learn in freedom, but to love doing it.

That, my friends, is our homeschool in a single word – freedom.

Visit iHomeschool Network to find out what other iHN bloggers think of homeschooling!