Reminding Myself About Why I Homeschool My Children

A wise woman once told me, when my children were very young, that God gives us one child to make us proud, one child to make us humble, and all the rest will take care of us when we are old. I have found much truth in that statement over the past 12 years and my children have taken turns making me humble and making me proud.


My children are taking the Iowa Test of Basic Skills this week. I have very mixed feelings when it comes to standardized tests and children. On the one hand, I know that they are a part of life and an important part for those students wishing to go on to college. I know that my daughter wants to go to college so she needs to gain skill in taking standardized tests. I imagine my sons will want to go as well so they need to start gaining skills in taking standardized tests.


I also think they are a useful benchmark to use as PART of the overall academic assessment of a child. On the other hand, I know many children struggle with testing and, overall, it is a very stressful experience. I also think we can put too much emphasis on test scores as THE defining characteristic of a child's progress. Certainly, it can be a part of the academic assessment of a child - but only part.


One of my children is really struggling this week with testing. I worry about the percentile rankings of this child's scores. Why? I don't know why, for they are likely only to confirm what I already know about this child. Working with my children, day in and day out, I have a pretty good grasp of my children's academic strengths and weaknesses.


So, rather than worry about issues that I decided a long time ago are of lesser importance to me, I thought this would be a good time to remind myself of why my husband and I chose to homeschool our children 6 years ago and have never regretted our decision. Choosing to homeschool our children seemed like SUCH A BIG DEAL 6 years ago and not everybody in our lives was comfortable with our decision. Now, we've been homeschooling for quite a while and it's just the way we roll. I rarely sit down and think through the reasons that we are doing what we are doing regarding the children's education. So, here's my thoughtful list in no particular order:

• We homeschool so that we can spend as much time as possible with our children. They are pretty much with us most of the time and we really like being with them. Sure, I'd like a mute button sometimes, but most of the time we just love being with them.


• We homeschool so that we can provide a personalized education to our children, one that helps them with their weaknesses and challenges their strengths.


• We homeschool because we like the really great teacher to student ratio that we have here at home.


• We homeschool because we enjoy the flexibility it gives our children to pursue their passions and areas of interest. My daughter swims competitively on a USA swim team. She practices every night for 2 hours a night and has meets 2-3 week-ends a month. My middle son is very artistic and spends hours upon hours sculpting clay figures. Homeschooling allows us more flexibility for pursuing passions.


• We homeschool because we love the flexibility it gives our family to live our life around OUR schedule. My daughter attended a private Christian school for kindergarten and I was surprised by how much it changed our life - our schedule was determined by the school schedule. I love the flexibility of homeschooling.


• We homeschool because we love going on educational field trips together!


• We homeschool because we wanted the children to understand that there are lots of different ways to be smart, all of which are valuable.


• We homeschool because we think it is OK for kids to go at different paces in their learning and at different paces in different subjects.


• We homeschool so that my husband and I can be the primary influences on our children as they grow up to adulthood. This certainly does not mean that we are the only influences but we are the primary influences.


• We homeschool because we wanted our children to love learning.


• We homeschool because I love to homeschool the children. Homeschooling the children is the most rewarding thing I have ever done and I learn so much all of the time.

So, rather than get anxious, I plan to focus on using the test results as I originally intended to use the test results. Not as a bragging feather in my cap or something to worry about, my plan is to use the tests as a tool to point out areas in which each of my children need to be challenged more to help them grow in that academic area. Not as a testament to the effectiveness of my teaching methods or the ineffectiveness of my teaching methods, rather the tests will be used as a tool to highlight those academic areas in which each of my children need more work and practice. The tests will not be a definitive measure of the academic progress of each child but as ONE measure of the total picture of their academic progress. Standardized tests are a tool and the tool will only jump off the counter and beat me over the head if I allow it to. I choose, instead, to use the tool to our family's best advantage.