TOPIC: HOMESCHOOLING.
Are you going to homeschool your kids? What is/was your favorite thing about homeschooling?
May/June 1999

I really don't know. I see how homeschooling has greatly affected me and my life, I think for the better, but I also remember feeling so different and weird, wishing I attended a "regular" school. Maybe I'll send my kids to school until 4th or 5th grade. Because now that I'm in highschool, I see the advantages in homeschooling: I don't have to face peer pressure about sex, drugs, language, clothes, etc; I'm getting a great, Christian education; home- schooling encourages independence and self-reliance which will help me in college; I can do school at any time of the day and work around my busy schedule; and I can do school in my pjs!!! I've been homeschooled since kindergarten, and I"m now about to be a Senior in highschool. I'd want to send my kids to a private, Christian school, especially with all these recent violent acts. But I also realize that a lot of kids in Christian schools aren't serious about their relationship with God, and can still have a bad influence on you. I guess I'll cross this bridge when it comes, which hopefully won't be for awhile!!!
--Angelina, via e-mail

I have been homeschooled forever. I don't know if I'll homeschool my kids when I have a home of my own. It depends on my career. If I'm a teacher, I could either teach at their school or keep them at home. But if I become, oh, let's say a doctor... I'd probably send them to a good Christian school. In the case of my homeschooling them... I'd probably homeschool them through 8th grade and then give them the option of homeschooling the whole way or going to a Christian highschool. What's my favorite thing about homeschooling? I like the fact that I can be done with school by lunch time if I'm in a good mood. =)
--Joelle, via e-mail

Yes [I'm going to homeschool my kids] because I believe that it gives the child a better environment to grow up in. It gives them a better chance to grow in their faith with God, and by the time they are ready to face the world their faith is grounded very well. Also, if the kid is a hands on learner on, a sight learner, etc. you can make the education to fit the kid better. How long? For most of their life, but depending on the child it will vary. Maybe if they'd like to go to school, I might let them... [My favorite thing about it is] you can make your own schedule for school, and start as early as you want. [I started when] my parents took me out of school, and they gave me the option of going back if I wanted, but I like home schooling!
--Holly, via e-mail

Actually, I've thought a lot about [this], and I'm not totally sure...but its *most* likely that things are going to turn out with homeschooling in the picture! Why or why not? I don't really like the idea of teaching my own kids, just don't know if I could do it, even though it is definitely a good thing. But with all the shootings going on, I think "Would I want to send my child out into that?" So I guess I'll make the final decision when the time comes...[Then,] I guess the flexibility and ease of the schedule [is my favorite thing about it]...its just so much easier and not near as stressful! [We started because] My parents just felt like that's what God wanted them to do!
--Adrienne, via e-mail

I'm definitely gonna homeschool my kids, at least until age 13. To keep them away from all those influences schools provide. But after age 13 I think I'll give my kids a choice, because I don't want to force homeschooling on them. It defeats the purpose, you know? Oh! My favorite thing about homeschooling is definitely the flexibility; I hold two part-time jobs and if I was in pub. school I couldn't do it. Next year I might go to public school, for the opportunities and social life, but I'll always have a big heart for home-schooling mothers; if their kids are like me, they must be great ladies!!
--Julia, via e-mail

I have been homeschooled for 6 years. (7 this coming school year.) I have learned soooo many things that I wouldn't have learned in any other school, like how to work with other people, and do it well. I have learned how to take care of other people, and someday my own family. As far as academic studies, I have been able to go at my own pace. That way I can accomplish more. I can concentrate on things that I need to work harder on. I have also come to understand that family is something that you need to love and depend on, not just deal with. God gave us them for a reason, so they must be important! About the homeschooling my own children someday, I would like to get to that point before I really say. That is a big step and I would have to talk about it with the person that I am going to spend the rest of my life. I am willing to discuss it, but I don't know what God is going to do between now and then. My mom started homeschooling when I was in the third grade. I wasn't doing all that well in classroom school, because I couldn't concentrate on what I was doing. I was also really becoming distant from my family. Mom started to pray for me. God told her that she needed to homeschool me. The goal for the first year was for me to understand that I am loved by my family. Then we went from there. I like homeschooling because of all of the things that I wrote at the top. I also like it because I get to ride horses during school!!
--Meredith, via e-mail

Homeschooling is incredible. It is what God wanted my family to do, it is great for me, it has made me who I am, it has made my family closer than many other families today. I've been homeschooling for 7 years now and I love it. I love the flexibility, everything. I can't say that I have made the decision at this point in my life that I am going to "homeschool my future kids"; I don't know what God's plan is for me. I will follow His lead! I am very grateful to my mother, however, for homeschooling me! I wouldn't be the person I am today without that influence, I know without a doubt.
–Alicia, KS


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