How did I land up homeschooling my kids?

This is a question we as homeschoolers are frequently asked.  Why do you do it? Or how did you start? What made you do it?  Well, for every one of us there is a different reason and driving force.

For us the driving force was God.  Literally.  I didn't really have a choice in the matter.  You see, once God has placed homeschooling in your path, you seldom manage to escape.  So what is our story?

It started off in a antenatal class before our first child was born.  They were telling us how to "child proof" your house.  I'll never forget the lady telling us that we must just think about what we did when we were kids and we will have a good idea of what to do to "child proof" our house.  Ja, wel!  (Yes, sure!) The big brat and I looked at each other and could read the answer in each other's eyes.  There will be no way to "child proof" our house!

On our way home, we started talking about what we were like as kids and came to the conclusion that no amount of child proofing our house will help.  And surely any teacher or school subjected to our kids will suffer.

You see, their mom was a terrorist in school.  I drove my teachers nuts.  Looking back at my kids short school careers, there must be some teachers out there still recuperating from having them in class. Not that they were naughty, they were actually very good, by my standards.  They are just different and as such a great  cause of many a distraction for other children.
 
OK, so back to the car.  It was there that the idea of homeschooling was planted.  We lived in a rather small town, and my soon to be born son was the only child in the village.  Homeschooling sounded attractive, but would I be able to pull it off?

Big Brat's main concern was the fact that I'm a scatter brain like you won't believe.  He works away most of the time, so who would check up on me?


Well, my life did not go according to plan.  The Big Bad Wolf came and he huffed and puffed and blew our dreams into smithereens. Before I knew it, we were back in the city. Big Bratling was off to school and Middle Bratling had made his appearance in our lives.  Money got tight and I started my own business.  Soon I never saw my kids, as they were either in school or busy with a multitude of after school activities.  Things started  spiraling out of control as we all run ourselves silly in the Rat Race.

Before I was ready, Big Bratling was ready for Grade One. Middle Bratling was in Pre-school learning to write and spell.  Now the wheels were coming loose nicely.

Big Brat and I decided that Big Bratling needs to attend a small school as once again our concerns of earlier was making its way into our minds.  My homeschooling friends all suggested homeschooling.  Big Brat and I was 100% sure that I would not cope, but it was tempting.

Once again Big Bratling needs to find a new school! By now Big Bratling was looking at attending his 5th school in 5 years.  And he is only 5 years old.  Not a great track record... We had to choose wisely, hmmm...

Never make decisions without God, I have subsequently learned. 

The only school we were happy with to send him to, closed its doors rather upruptly just before the start of the his Grade Two year, after almost 6 months of drama. The search for school number 6 was thrown upon us at the start of the new school year.  Needless to say, once again there was no school available that suited our principles.

We then went into partnership with some other parents who were in the same situation and tried to start our own school.  At the end of my patience with schools,  I then joked to my homeschooling buddies, that should this school too fail, I'll have to homeschool.  Well, God sure has a sense of humor.

Guess what happened?  End of Grade Two arrives and once again, we were looking for a new school.  At this point, my homeschool buddies reminded me of my joke at the beginning of the previous year.   So what are you going to do Lulu?

With absolutely no knowledge of homeschooling, no training in teaching and with a limited support basis, God threw me into the deep end.  We decided not to enroll Big Bratling into anymore schools, as 6 schools in 6 years, was enough.  He needed some stability in his life. 

Needless to say, if he gets to stay home, so does Middle Bratling.  He especially never wanted to attend school.  He was always nagging me to stay at home and do homeschooling. To top it of, we discovered that Girly Bratling was to make her entrance into our life.

Looking back, God spend the previous year or two preparing me for it.  Financially, we could afford it for me to close up shop.  We decided it was enough that the boys almost never saw Dad, for them to not see Mom, when it wasn't needed, was just stupid. So I wasn't working, and I spend some time helping out at the new little school we started, seeing what it takes to teach a small group of kids.  I loved being part of my kids lives again.

So there we were.  The beginning of Big Bratling's Grade Three year.  We had no knowledge of what homeschooling involves. We started off, totally scared out of our wits.  The kids and I did not know what to expect or do. 

Since then we have had almost 3 years of hid and run learning.  Some times school got off to a running start and we had great successes, and other times we wanted to hid away from the world, for we felt complete failures. Is it worth it?  You bet!  We love it.

So as to how I landed up homeschooling my kids?  Plainly put?  It is all God's doing.  This is what He wanted and He was going to make sure it happens.

As to why I am still homeschool?  Apart from it being really stupid to do something against God's Will? (Bible are full of examples of what happens if you do.)

Having lived this "lifestyle" for 3 years, I cannot for one moment imagine sending any of my kids away from me again.  Nor to let them be educated in things that I don't approve off, where I have no say in the matter.  I can't possibly expose my kids to the same false pressures pushed onto them in schools from teachers and peers alike.  No longer do they need to daily stand up to mockery for their faith or behavior. (I only heard about that horror stories later, when they had been home for a while and they commented how they are so glad they don't have that anymore.)  My kids were home, safe and sound.  The only bad influence is mom and dad's own sinful habits. 

But far more importantly, we are growing closer as a family, not further apart.  We are capable of experiencing  life together, learning new things together.  Yes, things still go haywire.  There are still sibling fights, but now it is because they are kids, not because they are stressed to the limit with everything that needs to be done in that few hours between school and sleep.

Everything becomes schoolwork and schoolwork becomes everyday living.  We learn as we live, and we live a full life, while we learn. Had my schooling been like this, I might have had a better school report at the end of the day.

Yes the formal part of school is a pain in the you know where for us all, but we deal with it as quickly as possible, so that we can be kids again as quickly as possible.  No longer do we need to spend more time than needed on academic issues.  My kids finally have time to be children again.  Something, most of kids now a days don't get. 

I'm still a scatter brain, but we manage just fine.  We found a program that compensates for my scatter brain, and the kids luckily got Big Brat's dissipline inbred in them.

Will we keep homeschooling?  YES.

Any other questions that needs to be asked?  I'll answer them as they come along.  For now, we want to get today's school behind us, so that we can go play in the garden.


From little old me.