Kids' Opinion of Homeschool

Just this past week - one of the boys told his sister that she needed to change her behavior or she would 'have' to go to public school and sit at a desk all day.

We saw a friend from the charter school we used to be a part of today. She asked how homeschool was going. I answered that I loved it, while a couple of the kids chimed in that they liked it and it was 'going good'.

I mentioned the possibility of getting a job and asked the kids what they thought about it. The first line of questions was about school and that they'd have to go back to public school. They even said that they liked being homeschooled better and that they liked having me be their teacher.

I'm grateful my kids like what we're doing and feel good about it. It was great today to have a chance to hike and be out in nature with some other homeschool families. I'm sure a couple of people that saw us wondered why 'those kids' weren't in school. I'm also glad that homeschool is getting more acceptable.

Be Real

This is something that came in an email newsletter that I get from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. It's support/ideas for homeschoolers. One thing we try to do as homeschoolers is live with the idea that we do lots of things different than most people we know. We also are not doing what the 'norm' was a few decades ago. I'm glad there are more homeschoolers than there used to be. Sometimes we realize people aren't familiar with what we do. So, this made me chuckle.

The Familyman     

Todd Wilson, Familyman Ministries    

As long as there are homeschoolers, there will be non-supportive family members. If you're fortunate enough to have supportive family members, you need to thank them. Thank them for believing in you and in homeschooling. Thank them for keeping quiet when they could be critical. Thank them for the encouragement in what you believe.

Now if you're like most of us, who have a few non-supportive family members in the closet, then let me say, "You're not alone." We've all had (or have) relatives who say critical, hurtful, discouraging comments. To give them the benefit of the doubt, I really believe they don't mean all that much by it. They are just "status quo" people. They like normal, they lived normal, and they don't know what to do with non-normal ... so they say dumb things.

I think the temptation is to get defensive, quote successful homeschool statistics, or get argumentative. I think that's the wrong approach. Instead, let your children do the talking ... not literally, but let their homeschooled behavior/character speak for your efforts.

Homeschooling and being at home has positive effects on your children. Your non-supportive family members will see it, and they will come around. I've seen it in my family. We had some who were skeptical ... and then they watched our kids grow up and you know what? They say nice things to us now because they see the difference.

So again, to recap:

1. Don't be surprised; you're not alone.
2. Don't get defensive.
3. Let your children do the talking.

Oh yeah, and although you might think you need to have it all together ... don't pretend to above all.

Be real,

Todd

Making Decisions

We have decided to homeschool our kids. There are many decisions that just keep coming. We are also constantly evaluating what works best for our kids. When it comes to other people judging our choices, I'm not a fan. This is a response I wrote to a question about homeschooling and associating with others was posted in a group that I'm part of currently. (I decided that as long as I'm sharing some thoughts - I might as well keep track of them - especially since there are times I comment and it's the first time I'm putting the thoughts together in that way.)

First of all - anyone who is LDS should understand the answer of 'This is what Heavenly Father wants us to do with our family.'. (Although, I get when they don't - we've had 'members' think we're odd and a family member that is against it.) People are afraid of what they don't understand. They might just need some questions answered. As for being able to share the gospel - most of the non-members we know are homeschoolers. (We live in Salt Lake.) We have a couple of groups we participate with in our area. I love that we are able to have close friendships with these families. The two main things from that sentence - 1. friendship and 2. families. It takes a friendship to share the gospel (not just someone you sit across the aisle from in class) - reality is that no one considers every other student in the school their close friends. The other thing I love is that we associate with families - not just the peers that are all the same age as my children. Families are the basic unit of the church - you want to share the gospel with families. It's also easier to share it with them if they've had a chance to get to know your family and can see your example. They're more comfortable asking questions. When you know the whole family it's easier to invite them to an event/meeting or to have the missionaries teach them. If it's someone your child knows from school - it's an adult contacting another adult they don't know (or don't know very well) in order to get permission for an invitation to happen. It just doesn't feel quite as friendly. The invitation tends to not go as well if it's awkward. One last thing - community involvement. I think it's easier to work community service in when we are the ones in charge of the schedule. When our kids were at school from essentially 8-4, it didn't leave much time for anything else. That would be my two cents. (Sorry it ended up a bit lengthy.)