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The direction of the Lord is my first reason for homeschooling. I always thought I would send my children to school and remain a music teacher. But when it was time I very strongly felt the Lord telling me to stay home and teach our dd. When she was almost six I felt the Lord lead us to put her in PS. Then six months later felt the Lord prodding to take her back out. I prayed for confirmation. I told the Lord that if I was hearing Him correctly, then I needed Him to give me everything she needed for homeschooling her again, including a desk (I only had $15 to buy curriculum with). Within about a weeks time everything was given or loaned to me to use including a desk for our dd. The one thing I had to buy was a math book ($15). After that I have never felt the Lord prompt again to do anything other than homeschool. There are many days I would love to send them all off (LOL ). But I know that is just my flesh speaking. Each year the Lord continues to provide what we need and continues to confirm that it is His plan for our family. The rest of my reasons seem less important but here are some.

I want my children to have a Biblical worldview and be able to form strong relationships with their siblings and us as parents. I want to be able to help mold and influence my child to be a Godly woman or man. I know that the best way I can do that is by spending lots of time with them. Homeschooling allows me so much more time with my children than if they were away at ps all day. I am able to see my dc building friendships with other children being raised in good Christian homes. And I have the benefit of NOT having to deprogram bad behavior that would be picked up in a PS setting.

So many other reasons for us. But those are the greatest.

Edie

This is such a great topic. My homeschooling journey started back when I was in school. I begged my mom to homeschool me. She told me I was dreaming and to hurry or I would miss the bus . So I went through highschool knowing that when my kids came along I wanted something different for them. Thankfully God blessed me with a husband who agreed with me and we have been able to homeschool from the beginning. Here are just a few of our many reasons we do it.

1. I get to be with my kids all the time. I can't imagine sending them off for 7 or so hours and not being there. I would miss so much. I know we would not be as close if they went to school. There's just no way.

2. My kids are closer to each other. They really are each other's best friends. They get so much more free time. Time spent playing with each other and forming a bond that I hope will last untill they are old and grey. I tell my kids all the time friends come and go but family you can't get rid of .

3. My kids are learning what I want them to learn. That means God is the center of our schooling and everything else takes second place! I believe school is very important but when I stand before God he won't care If I taught my kids calculas or latin. All He will ask is did I teach the children He gave me about the cross? Academics won't matter in Heaven but salvation will! Both of my girls were saved during a time of the day when (if in school) would have been near impossible. Madalyn's was at 10 a.m. on a Tuesday. We were in our minivan delivering food for a funeral when God spoke to her. I had to pull over on the side of the road I was crying so hard . Haley was saved a 11p.m. on a school night! There is no way I would have let her stay up that late if she went to public school. But at our house we're night owls so God was able to do His will and our precious girl was saved. Everyone in the family was so excited that we spent half the night praising God. I am so thankful I got to witness both of their salvation experiences. My husband and I are eagerly awaiting our sons(he is so close yea!).

Thats just a few reason we homeschool. There are so many more but I think I got the major ones down. Thanks for this topic. Sometimes it's nice to remind myself why I do this.

I was just thinking through the different responses here, and how our life situations make such a difference in the details of how we go about homeschooling. I have often thought that if my dh's career made it impossible to live around family, I would desperately need socializing with other ladies, and my dc would definitely need a few good friends if their cousins weren't right here. If I had a daughter, I'd need to seek out a friend for her, as we have sons and all of the cousins are boys that live near us. I also think that if we had a larger family, I would have to combine and streamline things to be able to keep moving along with homeschooling. If we had health concerns, that would make a difference in our day to day, and time would have to be spent planning for that. If my parents had health concerns, that would be a priority - and looking ahead, that will be important to make time for, as I could not ask for better parents, and it is my desire to have a place just for them within our home on the main floor that they could live with us at any point their health required this (they love their own home, so this is down the road thinking that we're saving, saving, saving money to prepare for). Also, I work part time in my home, and it is necessary for the health of my marriage, so finishing school by lunch is a major priority for me. If I didn't need to work part time, I would spread out my school day more and probably add this or that to our day, like field trips, play dates, etc. Also, my dh travels overnight more and more these days, and this effects my energy level and what I am able to accomplish (as well as some pesky thyroid concerns I have) . Anyway, I just was thinking that we all have goals that are musts, and other goals that may be situational based on what else is going on in the rest of our lives. My hat goes off to all of you hard working homeschooling moms who are making homeschooling happen in your homes, with your goals, within the challenges of your specific situations. It is just really a blessing to be a part of a group of ladies like yourselves and see how we are all enjoying HOD in our lives within the framework of our goals! Thanks for sharing your hearts here!

In Christ,
Julie