Why I want to homeschool

I want to home school.
The moment we were expecting, it was clear as day, to me, that I wanted to home school them.

The day that Coqui would start Kindergarten is approaching slowing, but steadily. So I felt like, even though we have been doing 'school' for over a year now, that I needed to get more serious about it. Meaning, of course, what does the state requires me to do, or not to do in my case. Furthermore, I need to find a curriculum that I want to use starting September.

During my research these last couple of weeks, one thing to get ready was a mission statement, or rather an answer to the question from people around us, of why I want to home school.

Before I do that, I want to say that we are blessed in such a way that I can stay at home with the children. Homeschooling and working - I don't think I could do that.
Recently, we ran a class at our church, an identity class. The purpose was to find out each others identity, skills, just what makes us 'us'. So I "found" out that I am blessed with the ability to teach - I love teaching, I have been a tutor in many stages of my life, in school, at college,... etc. I love to see the eyes sparkle when something is understood. I love to see the progress, with baby steps sometimes, and  sometimes with big leaps. Also I am blessed to be organized, love to catalog, analyze, and so on..... all skills that are great for homeschooling.

There are multiple reasons, of course, but here are mine:

We home school because I want to have a close relationship with my children. I want to be with them and see them grow up. I want to be there when they ask questions they can't ask at school. About everything, but mostly about religion, or inappropriated questions. I want to correct not-so-good behavior on the spot, not after school hours, from a stranger. I want to help them be molded into great adults.

We home school because we can use our influence to direct them to God. Nowadays, religion is taboo in schools. But it is a big part of our family life and I feel like it should be a big part of the schooling as well. 

We home school because I want more control of the friends and peers who influence them. I don't want them being bullied around. I want them to learn and have nice friends.

We home school because it gives us freedom. In so many ways. Freedom to be the human beings we are, I as a mother, and my kids as children. Freedom to integrate religion in our daily routine. Freedom to do scholl whenever and wherever we want. Really.If we are traveling, I can do it on vacation - especially if it is 'only' to grandma's house.And traveling can be part of the teaching progress. There is a saying in German: "Wenn einer eine Reise tut, dann kann er was erzaehlen.", which is something like this in English: "Traveling gives you something to talk about." or "Travel broadens the mind." or something similar. And it's so true.
Also it gives us freedom to ride on one subject (of interest) for a long time, while flying through another quickly, at least for one year. If Coqui is real interested in learning how to read right now, why pushing the Maths - he can pick up on it next year. I find that specific freedom so liberating: custom-tailored curriculum. It seems it would be so less frustrating to the child. And shouldn't learning be fun? And I don't mean that we make a game out of everything, but if you mix their own curiosity with interest and the schedule at hand, than I strongly believe that results will be outstanding.

We home school because I can give full attention to what is being taught, what they understand, and what not, or what needs to be done in order to make it more understandable for my children. We all learn in different ways. I truly believe that we can cover more material in less time than the regular school, because there are less children. Also I can teach in German, or add some Spanish, Latin or even Russian.I don't have to push them to meet class requirements or state tests.

We home school because I believe that my kids will have a better socialization. Yes, they are home (or not) to learn the basics, but that doesn't mean they are stuck there. There are field trips. They are co-ops. There are sport groups. There is church every Sunday. There are lots of opportunities to interact with others, children and adults. We will join a support group that will provide all that. We still have friends that are not home schooling and they will play with those friends. I personally like the idea of co-ops and teaching in a small setting, so I am not the only teacher, and/or my own children are not my only students. There is so much interaction, they will never get bored.

There are many more reasons, and I have talked about that before here.

I am looking forward to a journey together that we will all love.