Another homeschooler question-- What was your epiphany?

Question

You know that moment that you KNEW that you KNEW that you KNEW that this was the right thing? I remember mine. My son was doing Across America from Hewitt. In the afternoons we went to the creek to gather sandstones because one of the older boys was building a koi pond in the yard for a homeschool science project. Suddenly the 6yo picks up a sandstone and says, "Mom, its shaped like Delaware!" That is a memory treasure from many years ago.

Another one was a few years ago. My two youngest were about 12 and 17. We were going somewhere in the car when the kids started fighting. The were reading Romeo and Juliet and each wanted to read for a while. They were pulling the book back and forth, saying, "Let me read it! It's my turn!"

It's hard to imagine anyone but homeschoolers fighting over who will read the next act in Shakespeare.

So tell me your wonderful stories.

Answer 1

I am not a parent, but I was homeschooled. My siblings were homeschooled until 7th, 5th and 1st grade and then when I went into 4th grade we all started school. My three youngest sisters were never homeschooled, I think it just got hard for my mom to homeschool all of us.

I really wish I was homeschool again though :(. There are much less meanies at home then there are at school haha I'm kidding...sort of. I guess the real reason I wish I was still being homeschooled is because I spend so much less time with my mommy now that I'm in school. Yes I just called her mommy ;).

Answer 2

There have been many many small incidents, but I remember when my kids were about 7 and 8 and I was talking to another hs mom and she was telling me this story about how she'd had her 8, 5, & 2 yo out in the backyard swimming, and how the 5 yo had been all wet and had pulled out her hair rubberband and her pigtail stuck straight out, and the mom and two older kids just laughed and laughed because it was such a funny thing to happen, and the mom told me: "All I could think was, if my kids had been in school, we would have missed this."  I know that might sound like a stupid story, but I have remembered it over and over for YEARS, because it is the heart of why I homeschool: I love my kids.  These years are sooo temporary.  I can live 'my life' when they graduate in 4 years, but for now, these are the Mom Years, and I intend to enjoy them and love my kids and spend time with them!

Answer 3

I didn't have one. It is something that developed from a general interest in alternative education over several years.

I always sensed, even as a child that there was something wrong with modern education.

At 12 years old I realized that compulsory attendance was the cause of much of the chaos at my school. Students who didn't want to be there learned nothing and used the time to interrupt the learning of others, bully those who were awkward, and to raise general havoc. If they would just let those students go home and face the consequences of their choice to leave school the environment would be much more conducive to learning and many of those who chose to drop out would return much humbled or find an alternative way of gathering the education they needed to succeed in the world.

I also found what was taught to be ridiculous. Why memorize names and dates for a test which would be forgotten immediately afterwords. Facts can be looked up and specifics such as exact dates and the correct spelling of names are less important than understanding why events happened, the logic behind decisions made by leaders, and how it affected society in the long term. These important secrets were not revealed  in school and we were not given the tools to unlock them. Help from my science teacher dad who encouraged me to explore these questions gave me a better understanding of these things than my peers and made me eager to understand more. I am conviced that had I been given the tools of (real) learning, at the appropriate developmental stages, that I would have a better understanding of all academic subjects as an adult.

My original interest in alternative education led me to classical education and The Trivium. which led me to homeschooling. My research in homeschooling raised questions about the socialization which takes place in a "traditional school" setting and conviced me that when I had kids, I was going to spare them that by homeschooling, and so I do.

Answer 4

The first was while I was teaching my elementary class. Something about the social life of the kids hit me one day while I was observing them and I knew I didn't want my children growing up in that.

Other little things have been here and there: Seeing how well a bunch of homeschooled kids were playing together, kids who had never played together before, and seeing on the other side of the playground all kinds of non-homeschooling kids and how THEY were playing; seeing 10yo girls dressed like teenagers with their hair cut like a teenager's, iPods stuck in their ears and cell phones in their hands... What hits me most often is how well my kids play together. I NEVER saw that with other families growing up (I'm an only child, so can't compare my own growing up). Homeschooling really helps them have a bond they wouldn't otherwise have had.

Answer 5

Mine actually occurred BEFORE we ever started homeschooling.  When my 7yo gifted son brought home his first spelling list in 2nd grade, the list included such words as "of" and "for" (remember, this is SECOND grade).  When I asked his teacher, she said it's part of their "100 words" list and once they got through these, the words would become more difficult.

Ten weeks later, he brings home his spelling list and included among the other "more difficult" words is "flammable"!  I couldn't help but think there was something missing here.  We withdrew him a few weeks later and have been happily homeschooling ever since.

And "Brea" - I think it's cool that you still call her mommy!

Answer 6

After the public school failed to do any thing about the violence on the school bus. When ever their was a substitute driver on the bus my kid was hit or had her hair pulled or something that was violent and nothing was done. I pulled her out at Christmas last year and we haven't looked back!