- We homeschool for a couple of reasons. Our daughter is a talker and learns by telling herself what she needs to know. The lesson doesn't work if I talk to her, she needs to hear herself tell herself. Of course this may happen after I teach her the lesson or may happen before I get there. Either way, her voice seems to be a necessary ingredient. Can you see this happening in a classroom? Neither can I, at least not without problems. Our second reason involves my husband. He is 17 years older than I, retired, and loves to travel. One can't just pick up a child out of school and take her off for a month or two and then return her expecting everything to work as it did when she left. Schools frown on this habit.
We have always homeschooled, and she is ready to learn from whatever situation presents itself. One day she was late getting home once again, and I told her she needed to think about how to prevent that from happening. We ate dinner and after it was over she began to scuttle off. I called her back and we sat and talked about why it was necessary to be places on time and I required her to come up with some ideas about helping her remember to get home on time. She could think up lots of punishments, but nothing that would get her home on time, so I had to lead her there. "We aren't trying to punish you. We are trying to teach you how to live successfully as an adult in a world where you will have to be places on time. Teaching is not punishing. THINK!" She got a startled look on her face at that concept and ventured out with, "Well, if I had a watch with an alarm I bet I could set it for 15 minutes before I had to be home and then I would get there on time." I was glad she came up with the same idea I had come up with and told her it was a good one, and we went immediately to Wal-Mart and bought a watch. She has been on time since that.
We look at homeschooling as a way to teach our daughter skills she will need to be a successful adult, and we have been honest with her about our motivation. Knowing how to cook a meal from scratch is as important as being able to discuss the Magna Carta or change the oil in the car or solve a polynomial equation, in my estimation. (I left many subjects out, but I could go on all day and I don't want to become ridiculous.) - MrsTwoBears
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