Religion is not our number one reason for homeschooling.
I don’t even know if it would make the top 5. There. I said it.
In a world where religion is very prominent it can make me feel like an outsider. It can be isolating listening to friends talk about how they do memory verses and every subject is laced with religion. Heck, I know people who use the Bible as their only book for every subject.
I remember my first homeschool conference. My son was 6 months old, and my husband and I drove with him to South Carolina. We had made the decision to homeschool, but we were still at the “let’s just try preschool and see how it goes” stage.
I loved that conference so much. We learned a ton {note: please go to a conference}. We walked away with page upon page of information, and we got to see some different curricula up close.
But I left feeling a little inadequate. There were people who pulled their kids from private schools because they weren’t religious enough. There were people who I’m fairly certain had the entire Bible memorized. There were even the requisite jean jumpers that some women wear.
Pre-kids we had planned to send them to Catholic school. Our public schools aren’t that great, and Catholic school seemed like a fine option. I went to Catholic school, and I cherish that education. However, it is expensive. Like 5 figures expensive. We could do it, but we would have to give up so much that our lives would be home and school. That’s it. We weren’t prepared to do that.
So homeschooling seemed logical. We’re both fairly intelligent people. While I’m not suited to teach a class of 30 kids, a few kids is no big deal. We talked about it and decided to give preschool a shot then take it from there. {Note: we’re now planning to homeschool exclusively.}
If I made a list of the top reasons we’re homeschooling, religion wouldn’t make the top 5. It isn’t that religion isn’t important to us. It is. It’s just that in the beginning $10,000+ per kid a year was our main motivator. Now it is mostly because we think our kids are fun and want to be the ones who teach them.
I plan on teaching religion. I’m not avoiding it or pushing it to the wayside. It isn’t something that will permeate every subject, and I don’t really see memory verses in our future. There is nothing wrong with either of those things, but they aren’t really our style.
So as you start your journey {if you haven’t} it is okay to homeschool for whatever reasons you have.
In a community that can seem incredibly religious, it can be isolating to think you aren’t doing it right. That maybe you aren’t doing religion right. You are. It is okay to have other top reasons for homeschooling. It doesn’t make you a bad Christian {or whatever your beliefs}. Just because it isn’t your top reason doesn’t mean God didn’t bring you to it. It just means He knew what your family needed to make the leap.
So take a deep breath. Enjoy the journey. No matter why you are on it.
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