Why We Pulled Our Kids Out of Public School

I'll get back to my weekly school posts next week.  We took this week off of school.  Where we're at in our school calendar right now has our school weeks ending on Tuesdays, so I won't have a post on that until we finish up next Tuesday.  In the meantime, I'll answer another one of our most frequently asked questions.

We get asked frequently, why did you pull your kids out of public school?  There are actually many reasons why we did, and all of them together just weighed too heavily on us not to pull them out.

1.  God placed the desire and need for them to be home in my heart.  I will be honest, I kind of ignored God on that one for awhile (two and a half years to be exact).  I mean, I heard Him, but I had so many reasons why I should NOT homeschool.  I was never really one of those moms who got excited at the thought of sending my kids off to a building for seven hours each day, and only having them with me (not counting sleeping time) for five hours.  But it was just one of those things that everyone did.  I went to public school, and I turned out fine.  Still, I had that tugging in my heart, that something was not right; they belonged home with us.  

2. A downward spiral.  Kindergarten went fine for Jacob.  First grade was a completely different story.  We started hearing the all too common term ADD/ADHD.  His teacher kept saying, "Something is just off with him."  As you can imagine, as a parent, those are not the words you dream that your child's teacher will say to you.  After much debating, Jacob took the written test to determine if he did, in fact, have ADD/ADHD.  Nope.  Results came back normal.  His doctor even thought it was ridiculous that the teacher even thought he had that.  First grade was complete opposite of kindergarten.  That's when the first thoughts of homeschooling entered my mind.  But I also had a four year old, a one year old, and a baby on the way.  How could I handle it all?  At this point, Matt was still not fully convinced it was the right decision for our family.  We decided to try second grade out.  It wasn't terrible, but definitely not great.  Then somehow third grade rolled around, and Jacob was still in public school (and Evelyn was starting kindergarten).  It was another rough year.  In the spring, I attended a Hearts At Home conference and heard Michelle Duggar speak.  I really don't remember what she was speaking on, but I remember hearing the words, "Obey now.  Understand later."  That was my "aha" moment.  I didn't need to understand how it was all going to work out.  I just needed to be obedient in what I felt called to do and trust God to work it all out.  Also, by this time, Matt was convinced it was what we needed to do (an answer to prayer).

3. The ability to give them a good, Godly education.  I was able to choose curriculum that not only suited their learning styles, but also make sure it integrated our beliefs as well.  Also, I was able to choose curriculum that was challenging (in a good way) for them.  I know it's not the teachers' fault, but the public education system is so focused on making sure the kids can ace their standardized tests, that they aren't able to teach them many of the things they once had the time to teach.    

4. Flexibility.  I absolutely LOVE the flexibility that homeschooling allows us.  Little did we know when we began this journey a few years back that we would be moving six hundred miles away.  The flexibility we now have allows us to take off at a moments notice to go visit family, or not to have to worry about school when family comes to visit us.  If the weather is nice, we've been known to spread a blanket under a tree and do our lessons outside.  When we had what they call down here a "snowstorm", and Matt was home from work- the kids skipped lessons to play out in the snow with Daddy.  I think the flexibility is my favorite part.  

I'm sure there are many other reasons I could list, but those are my top four.  In the beginning, I know some people thought we were crazy.  But I think now they see how well the kids are doing and actually support our decision.  Not only do I like homeschooling, I LOVE it!  I love the togetherness is has created within our family.  I love being the one to teach them new things whether it be reading their first words, writing their names, or identifying the Middle East countries and their capitals.  I understand that it is not for every family, but for this season of life, it is a perfect fit for ours.