Transcript
Welcome back to the Homeschool Vibe Podcast, your source for homeschooling tips, inspiration, and support. I'm your host, Beth.
Before we jump in I wanted to thank a couple of listeners who recently wrote really kind Podcast reviews on Apple. You have no idea how much it feeds my soul and my drive to keep on going. Running two podcasts, trying to get my audiobook completed, and still running our little farm is a little overwhelming some days and I have wondered at times if the 40 hours a week I am putting into the podcasts is even helping anyone and so I thank you so much. It means so much to know that it is helping you! Thank you, Heart Centered Homeschool and LillieGrey for the time you took to do that. I also got a new book review on Amazon! Thank you to Jessica! It honestly gets me verklempt. You taking the time to review are acts of kindness and mean so much to me. If you find this podcast beneficial to you, would you do me a huge favor and share it with one person today that you feel would also gain from it? Just right now click that share arrow button thing and send it off to a friend. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
My youngest graduated high school in May. Watching my formerly shy, delayed-learning daughter graduate with honors and scholarships while dancing across the stage to get her diploma made this mom’s heart so deeply grateful for our homeschool journey. Thinking about all the reasons I am grateful I was forced into homeschooling I came up with these 10. There are more than these 10 reasons i am glad we homeschooled, I just didn’t list them all. I want you to know that I have not once regretted this journey once and I know with everything in me it was the right path for my family.
10 REASON why I am glad we homeschooled.
- LEARNING STYLES Knowing both of my kids and their different learning styles. I know without a doubt that they would have struggled in school. Both of my kids are brilliant, in different ways but still brilliant. My son who learns very quickly and wants to know the why of everything would have been bored out of his mind. My brilliant girl has ADHD, the real kind, not the blaming my forgetfulness kind, but the legit ADHD mind. This brilliant, funny girl would have been thought to be slow or behind when instead she just learns differently.
- SOCIAL LABELS - My son has severe food allergies and had growth issues, he was very small for his age. My daughter has auditory processing and ADHD and also has allergies. When my daughter was younger she wouldn’t respond to people at first when they would ask her questions in a busy location where her mind was overwhelmed. She would just say WHAT DID YOU SAY? Because she struggled with processing so many sounds at once. Understandably she was shy in social settings. My son has never been shy a day in his life but I feel like he would have possibly been crushed by bullies. Instead of having the shy label or other unkind labels placed on them, these kids were able to take part in a huge variety of social settings where they weren’t labeled - they just got to be themselves. Over time my daughter was able to work through her overwhelm and has blossomed into a social butterfly, she has gotten leads in musicals, and plays and is on the improv team. If those labels had been on either of my kids, they may be very different adults today. I now have two kind, brilliant, and confident adult kids that I couldn’t be more proud of.
- LOVE OF LEARNING - They get to choose what they read. They get to help choose their curriculum. They get to choose their classes. It doesn’t make learning a chore. When you love learning it is very motivating to seek out the knowledge. Love of learning is the biggest gift they received from homeschooling.
- SELF-TAUGHT - Because my kids had the experience that learning is fun, they dive deep into any and all topics that interest them. They know how to learn and how to find the resources to do it. They know they don’t have to rely on institutions or the government to teach them. THANK GOODNESS!
- MY INFLUENCE INSTEAD OF SOMEONE ELSE’S AGENDA - No matter where you land politically or religiously, all parents should be able to understand that while children are young the parents have the right to be their biggest influencer. If you are sending them off into the world you have no idea what their teacher's influence might have. I believe that most teachers are good but it doesn’t take much to alter a child’s thinking. I have a brother that had a teacher teach about how we should eat low-fat food. He was always very thin and all of a sudden this skinny 4th grade boy became terrified of fat in his food. The teacher wasn’t doing anything wrong, but it went wrong for my brother and as parents, we can make sure that things like that don’t happen. We do also need to make sure our children aren’t taught things that go against our deeply held beliefs or things that they are too young to process. Now some people may say we are sheltering them but what I have done is as they grow older and can process a wider variety of topics - I present both sides to them and I explain why I feel or believe a certain way. It isn’t about putting them in a bubble, it is about making sure everything they are exposed to builds them up, helps them feel safe, loved, and empowered. Having kids go to school and hear conflicting information from teachers that goes against your beliefs can overtime cause division in your home and lots of confusion for your children.
- TIME FOR TALENT DEVELOPMENT - Both of my kids have been able to spend time learning instruments, acting in plays, being on improv teams, game creation, etc. They have the time and flexibility which is so good for their mental health as well as their skills.
- FAMILY TIME - This one is huge for me - I have been able to ENJOY time with my kids instead of just being the chauffeur, cook, maid, manager, etc. I get to have slow days with my kids when we need them. We get to enjoy our evenings instead of stressing over homework. We get dinners together every night.
- PROPER SOCIALIZATION - Having my kids spend time each day with people of all ages has done more for them than spending time in a classroom with kids all the same age. My kids can go into a room and talk to anyone, any age and carry on an engaging conversation with them.
- VACATION TIME - Ok so you as a homeschooler can choose the best times ever for vacation! You can choose to go when schools are in session! It was one of the best bonuses of homeschooling ever!
- NO HOMEWORK!!! Last but not least! No homework! Now, Schoolwork happens but it happens when it works for us, not every night in a rushed stressful way. Who likes homework? I am sure some of you nerds out there will yell ME ME ME. But most of the world I think would rather not do work when you don’t want to.
Let me know what I missed and what you are grateful for about your homeschool journey!
