I used to get this question a lot. It made me laugh then and I still chuckle when I hear it.
Maybe I was just fortunate enough to have a group of other families in my church as well as locally in my community that home educated their children. Our problem was never concern about them having opportunities to spend time with other kids, our problem was that we spent way more time playing and socializing than we did doing actual “book work”!
My kids best friends lived in our neighborhood and were also home schoolers. Almost every day, they were getting together at either our house or their friend’s house to play. There were many days I had to say “no” to social time so that we could get school work done.
This is quite different than traditional school. In a classroom setting, they are grouped up with others their own age and they are told to sit quietly and not talk for most of their day. In fact, they are encouraged to NOT socialize. They get a couple of hours at most to interact with their peers. Even then, when they are at lunch, they are told to not talk for the first part of lunchtime so that they will eat. They are SO revved up to interact with their friends because they have had to keep quiet for so long! I understand the rule, I just find it comical that school parents are so ingrained with the ideology of a “normal school day” that they can’t see how much more accurately home schooling reflects real life.
Let’s face it, if you work outside your home, you probably work with people of varying ages. You also don’t really have to follow any of the protocols school taught you—like don’t talk while you are working. Don’t collaborate. Don’t ask others their opinions. Real life is very different from traditional classrooms.
I believe with the unfortunate lock downs that Covid brought on, there is also great good that has come from it. I do realize that some children are better off in school due to horrible conditions at home, which absolutely breaks my heart that they are not safe at home. I also understand that some parents just can’t make it work because they need 2 incomes. But I also believe that the lock downs have opened the door for those who might not have considered homeschooling before to take a look at it; to understand that it IS doable. There are probably a lot of families around you that will decide to keep their children home to educate them. That’s a big win! Years ago, I remember reading a statement by pastor Voddie Baucham in his book Family Driven Faith: Doing What It Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk With God “We cannot continue to send our children to Caesar for their education and be surprised when they come home as Romans.” Great book, by the way.
Contact your church to see if they have a support group for homeschooling families. If not, start one! Moms need encouragement. They need to know they are not alone. They need to know YOU WILL NOT MESS YOUR KID UP FOR LIFE by homeschooling. I was nothing special. No college degree. I graduated high school and had a few years of college, but dropped out to get married and have babies. It’s also not a lifetime commitment if you decide to try it for a year. If things don’t work out, you can put them back in school. However, you can do greater good by teaching your children godly principles throughout the day than by what they will get by being immersed in a sinful, worldly public education system. You know your child better than anyone. You love them more than any other human does. Surround them with your love and instruction every day. Teach them God’s commandments—as His word instructs all of us to do:
Deuteronomy 11: 18-19
“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
My children are both grown now. They both graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. One of them went on to get her masters degree at the University of Cincinnati. Both have wonderful jobs. Both are happily married. One of them has blessed me with a grandson (and another on the way). And I hope and pray that both of my children will decide to home educate their children. I feel pretty good about it so far 😉
And they won’t turn out weird if you homeschool. As long as you aren’t weird 😉 Teach them social skills. They will learn better manners from you than from the kids on the playground. That’s where most of them learn to be either a bully or a victim.
You can do this! Reach out if you need encouragement. Keep pressing on!
