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How Homeschooling Helped My Family

For the past few weeks, I’ve shared ways you can prepare for next year’s homeschool by determining your educational philosophy & setting goals for your homeschool.  I’d like to take a break before going over each approach to homeschooling.

Today, I want to share about my family, specifically how homeschooling helped my family & how our kids reacted to homeschooling.

No, my kids didn’t love homeschooling all the time.

Surprise!

Although, we homeschooled for 10 years, it was our very last choice. Our children were in a private Christian school and it wasn’t going well. We needed something different and we weren’t going to put them in the public school. We didn’t agree with the agenda that public schools have for our children.

When we pulled them from school, Ashley was entering 5th grade and Gentry was entering 3rd grade. Everyone said, “Oh, you can do it. You can homeschool. You’re a professional school teacher.”

I was a 5th grade public school teacher for six years.  I sat on many curriculum committees during those six years. While my kids were at the private Christian school, I also sat on some curriculum committees.

But, teaching in the public schools and evaluating curricula did not prepare me for homeschooling. God did!

A Leap of Faith

When we started homeschooling, we took a leap of faith.  As I said, it was our last choice. During those 10 years of homeschooling, God grew us into parents that followed His direction for our kids.

We had ups and downs. Nothing was perfect. My kids liked it at times. They didn’t like it at other times.

Even though my kids didn’t always like homeschooling, they look back with a different perspective as an adult.  I recently visited with Gentry (24 years old) when she remarked, “Mom, I really think homeschooling prepared me. What we did in those high school years, especially prepared me for college. I’m sure it gave me a good work ethic, also.”

Ashley & Hunter say the same thing.

Tools of Learning & Work Ethic

Homeschooling prepared them because we gave them the “tools of learning”.  We also instilled a good work ethic to be successful in all areas of life.

They’re all independent and choosing three very different avenues of life right now. They still have the same foundational values; they’re implementing those values in the roles God leads them.

So, if you’re wondering if you’re making the right choice, listen to some kids who graduated from homeschool – who are thankful for the foundation it provided. If your kids aren’t excited to homeschool, talk to moms who are further down the homeschooling road than you are.

Why I Share My Homeschooling Story

I share my homeschooling story so you know that we’re a real family.  Not everything was perfect. We had our arguments about showing your work in math or using better penmanship.

But homeschooling brought our family together in a way we don’t see with school families. Homeschooling allowed us to choose the approaches that worked best for each of our children, instilling our Christian values in our kids.

As I discuss the different approaches to homeschooling over the next few weeks, I’ll share stories from my own life, from my own kids. This includes ideas, concepts, principles, strategies, tips and tricks that we used in our family. I’ll share real life homeschooling with you – not research that someone else did.

Get ready to hear what we personally did. . .I hope it encourages for you.

kerry beck - HowToHomeschoolMyChild.comKerry Beck homeschooled all three of her children for 10 years. She is now an empty-nester that encourages homeschool moms online and at live workshops. She wants to give you a free ebook: Everything You Wanted to Know About Homeschooling that you can grab by clicking here. She also has a free Easter Bible Lesson for you.