One Family's Story: The Privilege of Home Schooling- Being Together

I asked on my last blog post for readers to share how they school their children and why. Dawn Wright of  Are These Kids All Yours was willing to share why she home schools. She has a very unique family in that all nine of her children are adopted. Here is her story in her own words.

The Privilege of Homeschooling- Being Together

 First I am going to say this because unless you know me you may be thinking- well I happen to think public school is fine or I am public school teacher.  I AM NOT AGAINST YOU!  You do work that is beyond necessary it is the fabric of our society!  I pray for you and your students!  I am not anti public or private schools, but I am pro our homeschool.

The above picture is one of the main reasons why we homeschool- I love that our family gets to spend so much time together!  We get to do math, hiking, reading, playing, outdoor exploring, chores, English, watching movies, spelling, Lego competitions, lessons of real life spending, saving, and giving, creative writing, history, and everything is all rolled into one.

Now some argue that for this reason they couldn't do it.  I will be honest as it is not always easy of course.  There are times when we wear on each other or step on that last nerve.  We are not perfect and our home is not quiet.  However, we have memories galore good, hard, and everything in between.

Relationships and facing the ups and downs together is not easy.  It would be great to escape and Jason and I have to guard our time together as well as individual time to get rest and retreat.  This includes date nights, Jason takes time to refill and so do I as well throughout the week.

 I love that our routine can include a family day.  A day every week where we can all say no to staying at home and just go out and play.  We usually go to the theme park for the day- convenience and more cost efficient when you live very close to all the theme parks here.  Sometimes we go to a state park, play board games all day, or go shopping as a family.  Hopefully we will get started in doing some camping soon too (we got camping gear for Christmas).

 We don't have to worry about what is being taught to our children.  We get to choose the curriculum, and divide the time between subjects the way we want.  We have the privilege of seeing our children grow and learn daily and be a part of that.  We run errands together and don't stress that they have appointments at different times.  We can school around that.

HA!  We even homeschool year round because I happen to like staying inside some of those super hot days in the summer.  It also allows us to focus on different things at different times of the year.  Let's be honest- we have several learning struggles in our home from ADHD, dyslexia, auditory processing issues, sensory processing issues, and everything in between.  However, we can completely tailor everything we do to help our children as we school together.

 I get to encourage my children in their learning throughout the day.  I get to see when and how they are making progress.  I also see the struggles up close.  It allows me to be "all in" and do my own research into how to help them and encourage them more.

 We get to talk about world issues, community issues, and even our own family issues in real ways.  It does allow us to protect them from a lot as well, but not in the way most people think about.  It allows us to wait until their age is appropriate to share with them about things, but we do have real talks around the table about tough issues as well.  We are not here to completely shelter our children, but to prepare them for life through the lens of a relationship with Christ.

 Let's be honest the field trips are great too!

 It is something that started out as a necessity as our camp ministry life was so busy on weekends and summers we would practically never see our children.  Before we were married we talked that if it was at all possible one of us should stay home with our children.  It was a conscience decision that we both felt strongly about.  We wanted to spend time with our children and be there for them as our parents had done for us.

Is it easy?  Does it all get done every day?  Is it perfect?  Do we always enjoy it?  The answers are a resounding no.

Every time Jason and I speak about it though our hearts come back to the huge privilege we have.  The privilege of bonding as a family, doing projects together, teaching in and out of the "classroom", creating fun memories, and being able to be there for our children.  So even though it isn't perfect it is ours- together!

Please leave questions and comments for Dawn in the comment section.

Your Child's Education

You'll notice that I have a poll along the side of the blog asking where your child receives his/her education. That is because I'm working on some articles about different education options.

I'd love to hear from parents about education choices.
What kind of school does your child attend or how is your child educated?
How did you make that choice?
Has your choice differed between children. If so, why?
Has your choice for your child changed through the years?
What factors do you consider when choosing?
How much are you involved at your child's school?
What else would you like to say about education?

I attended public school until sixth grade. Then I went to a Christian school. I went to a Christian college also. My masters was split between Indiana University South Bend and The University of North Dakota. I have a masters of education with a reading specialty, but I really don't have much experience in the classroom. Part of that is due to moving so often when my husband was in the Air Force, so I'm not certified anywhere and part of it is because the classroom has changed so much that it's not fun. I am very much a hands on person, and you can't really teach that way anymore. I taught in two Christian schools and substitute taught for several years. My real passion is children's literature, so I probably should have been a librarian! I like connecting kids with books they'll want to read. I'd like to write that kind of books too!

My children were in public schools in several systems. A couple of my children spent a year in an English school when they were small. Since moving to the Florida panhandle, different children have been in public, Christian, a computer based charter school, and a tradition charter school.

Each year we look at each child's needs and decide the best place for them. For instance, our charter high school is a good school with great opportunities for the kids in marine biology,  medical fields and technology. But it was not a good placement for my special needs child. Since I didn't want her in our zoned school, I did school choice to get her in a smaller high school. But it is still a school with lots of problems. There isn't a really good choice for her. 

My twins are in different schools, one in a public elementary school and one in a charter school where she is closely supervised. Next year I will be doing school choice for a different public middle school for one (the school with a swim team!) and leaving the other in the charter school. 

Please share your own stories with me in the comment section, but only what you don't mind being shared.