Why we Homeschool


We began homeschooling in September 2019, when my son W was a fourth grader.

Why did we choose to start homeschooling? There was a whole host of reasons school wasn’t working for us…

W wasn’t learning much. He was spending his day doodling and fooling around. He was completely wound up by the social groupings and loud behaviors around him and not at all excited about learning or concerned with the quality of his work. His day felt increasingly like a waste of time. His school prioritized projects and community events but not a lot of teaching and learning. There was extremely little communication from teachers, even when I tried– and oh, was I a parent who tried. W had some learning challenges that the school didn’t identify, but that I as a parent was able to eventually see myself, thankfully. Although I identified the fact that he needed some extra support with attention and fine motor, and had the testing done to confirm it, and although I pushed for a 504 plan to document these things, the supports that should have happened didn’t. The months kept passing. Along with not getting the support he needed, W was also capable of doing much more than what was being taught in subjects like math and he wasn’t being given the challenges or personalization he needed in those areas either. He was bored. Yet the behaviors in his classroom were hugely entertaining to him. He himself had behavior challenges in the classroom. He was not productive in school. There was a case of bullying. There were meetings about the bullying. There was lots of documentation about it and yet, again, horribly, nothing changed. It was hard to face my son when the grown-ups around him weren’t making things better. In his school some subjects weren’t being taught at all (writing, for example), while other subjects were being taught extremely inconsistently– not regularly, plus different programs and methods were used from year to year, classroom to classroom when they were taught at all. Discipline and classroom management were all over the place, and included a lot of old-school, humiliating methods like heads down on the table, lost recess time, and collective punishment (whole class missing parts of recess for behaviors of a few).

…In short, it was becoming increasingly painful for me to drop him off at school all day. I hated the thought of sending him again year after year, when it felt so not right, not to mention having my daughter soon begin and go through the same system. I was desperate for his education to be something he cared about, for it to feel positive, for him to be challenged and supported where he needed it. While we considered moving to another school district or tuitioning to a private school, we also wanted more control than those things would have allowed. It was not a quick or impulsive decision, but we decided in the spring of 2019 to make a massive life shift to homeschooling– or at least to try it for a year. I’m so glad we did. Here we are three years later, and my fingers are crossed that we can continue for a lot longer.

People ask sometimes, “How do you like homeschooling?” We all love it and that is why we have continued to do it. My son is now a sixth grader and my daughter a first grader. There are even more reasons we have continued to homeschool as reasons we started in the first place. Here are some of the many reasons we have continued:

More family time.

Better sibling relationships– because they have the time to learn how to work and play together.

They are learning so much.


I know my kids better than I ever have.

Personalized/interest-based learning. It is amazing to see my kids run with something they are interested in.

My kids learn how they best learn and are able to do what they need to focus.

They have agency and control over their day.

Our whole family is aware of and has more conversations about the learning that happens.

We are teaching lifelong values such as the fact that life is learning, that learning doesn’t have to happen in a certain place or at a certain time.

My kids got to spend so much time with our aging dog in the last years of his life.

Life is simpler and easier to organize when it doesn’t all have to be squeezed into evenings and weekends.

My kids like school now.

They can use the bathroom or take a break whenever they need to.

We can work outside whenever it makes sense. 

No lunches to pack or tiny containers to wash.

My kids are excited about their learning and to tell others about their learning.

We can go exactly the speed they need to, skipping the things they don’t need and focusing on what they do.

They have time to make a lot of homemade gifts each year.

We go on field trips of all varieties.

We embrace those occasional days when we decide to set aside the math and writing and science and social studies and do a big project or outing together because the timing is just right– whether that’s skating when the ice is good or spending the day cooking before Thanksgiving.

My kids get to do art in an unhurried, creative, personal way. My son’s art abilities and how they have grown by leaps and bounds are one of the many surprise benefits of homeschooling.

Homeschooling allows a lifestyle of rich variety. We can pick and choose the sports, field trips, unique classes (virtual and in-person), field trips, and other programs that we want to experience.

Social life, while it was one major concern entering homeschooling, has been rich and diverse. My kids have made and kept in touch with a greater variety of friends (of various ages!) through classes, sports, camps, playdates, community involvement, family events, and homeschool programs.

Snow days/dentist appointments/constantly changing sports schedules/etc are no longer stressful.

The budget is not as tight as we thought it would be.

Family vacations can happen other times besides the month of July.

Daily instrument practice can happen during the day and not just when they are tired and spent at the end of it.

The kids do so many interesting projects that they wouldn’t have the time to dream up and dig into otherwise.

We can volunteer.

I can adjust our schedule/routine as often as needed to make sure it works for them.

The kids can more authentically help with daily household chores.

They get the sleep they need.

We all spend more time outdoors.

I love spending time with my kids.

I, personally, am happier and less stressed.

…and more.

While we started homeschooling because school wasn’t working for us, we have continued because homeschool works well for us in so many ways, including ways we didn’t predict but have embraced. I never dreamed I would homeschool; homeschooling was barely on my radar five years ago. But here we are and I’m a big proponent. I recognize homeschooling is not an option for every family, and it doesn’t solve society’s education problems. But I absolutely love being a part of my kids’ educations (and a bigger part of their lives) rather than outsourcing it. Thanks for reading this blog and joining us on our homeschool journey!

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...And if you've read this far, here are a few popular posts you might enjoy checking out:




Various Posts about Art Projects we have Done in our Homeschool








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