Is Homeschooling Right for Your Family?
As we wrap up yet another school year, I wanted to share the opening chapter to my book: Becoming Homeschoolers: Give Your Kids a Great Education, a Strong Family, and a Life They’ll Thank You for Later.
It’s a short read with a little quiz that will help you know if the book would be helpful to you! At the bottom of this post you can answer a question and be entered to win a GIVEAWAY of the book next week! Hope you enjoy…
Homeschooling was not even on my radar twenty-four years ago when I started parenting. A younger Monica would be most surprised of all that one day she would be authoring a book with the word homeschool in the title. There are a lot of good reasons to consider homeschooling. I think we can agree that our world has been undergoing a lot of change in the past few years (#understatement). As
intentional parents, we want to navigate our children’s education with eyes wide open.
I don’t want to bash the public school system here or suggest that there is only one right way to educate your kids. While I am saddened by many of the things going on in America’s public schools, I also know there are teachers and administrators in all kinds of schools who are working hard to protect kids and trying to steer the ship in the right direction. I am very grateful for them. I am also aware that each of our life situations is unique and that the educational choices we make for our kids are impacted by many factors. How we each navigate our kids’ education requires an abundance of grace.
When all is said and done, as parents we are responsible for the upbringing of our own children—and school is a big part of that. If you’re still uncertain and not entirely convinced that homeschooling could be the best choice for your family, here’s a short quiz to help you decide if homeschooling might be a good
option for you and your kids. Just answer yes or no to the following statements:
- I am curious about what it would look like to homeschool my kids.
- I want to choose what my kids are learning.
- I want to spend as much time as possible with my kids while they are growing up.
- I believe my child has special gifts or special needs that would best be served by a custom home education.
- I am concerned about bullying in schools.
- I worry about school violence.
- Our family wants to travel or do school on our own schedule.
- I love to teach and love the idea of teaching my own kids.
- I love to learn and love the idea of learning alongside my kids.
- I want my kids to grow up having close relationships with each other.
- My child is interested in pursuing a sport or extracurricular activity that would be best supported through a home education.
- I want my kids to experience a well-rounded education with opportunities to learn things outside of a typical classroom setting.
- I want faith to be an integral part of my child’s education.
- I don’t want my child to waste hours of their day standing in lines, waiting for kids who misbehave, or doing unessential busywork.
- I want to be the one to teach my child about sexuality and gender.
- I do not want my child to be taught a purely evolutionary view of creation.
- I want to protect my child from being confused by an administration, teachers, or students who want to push a cultural or social agenda that does not align with our family values.
- I don’t like rushing to get out the door every morning.
- I don’t like unnecessary homework.
- I just really like my kids a lot. 🥹
If you answered yes to any of the statements above, then yes, you will benefit from my new book Becoming Homeschoolers, and homeschooling may be a great fit for you!
Order a copy of Becoming Homeschoolers (On sale now!!) HERE!
Then — answer a question below to be entered to win a copy next week — On Wednesday, May 27th!
(if you already have a copy, wining another one will be a great chance to gift one to a friend!)
ANSWER ONE/BOTH of the questions below to be entered to win. (US Addresses only please!)
- Which of the 20 items listed above most resonates with your interest in or reason for homeschooling?
- What is one of your greatest hopes for your kids by the time they graduate from high school?
Thanks for sharing this post with your friends! (Always tag me @monicaswanson_ if you’re on IG!)
xo Monica
Pretty much all of these resonate with me but 3, 4, 13, and 20 are my true driving force. I know homeschooling is not something people think is financially possible but it is so worth the sacrifice. My time with my boys is priceless. My greatest hope for them before they graduate high school is to truly KNOW God and have had witnessed my husband and I walk with him in every aspect of our lives. Not just on Sunday mornings or Wednesday nights but everyday and in every area.
Thank you as always for your wisdom and the thought-provoking topics you discuss! I had a really hard time pairing it down, because they all feel like reasons that should be considered, but I definitely resonated with 10, 14, 17 and 19. The older my kids get, the more urgently I feel the sands of time falling through the hourglass, and I want to be intentional and prayerful with how they receive their education, and I want them to grow close to us as parents and to their siblings! Those relationships are for life!
Ultimately, I hope that my kids have a solid foundation; that their faith will be their own so that whatever challenges and hurdles they face in the world, they know the lens with which to view them. And I’d pray that they’d have the character and skills to be successful in any area of life, not just good students.
Thanks as always, Monica! I appreciate all that you do, and the community you’ve created, that’s been such a blessing to me.
I resonate with 3, 9, and 20. I love spending more time with my kids and I learn so much from the topics they are interested in so that’s really fun. My greatest hope for my kids is that they will have a strong personal faith when they graduate. I have seen my oldest develop this and it is such a huge blessing.
3, 4, 6 – honestly most of these! But these three especially.
Hey there. I love your book. If I got another, I’d definitely give one away. I hope my kids Grow up with a love for each other, for God, and for others. Definitely easier said than done. One of my top reasons for homeschooling, besides having control over what they learn, and over their outside influences and such; would be slower mornings when possible. The idea of daily drop off and pick ups is extremely off putting to me; especially with littles to drag along. I also really appreciate the flexibility that homeschool affords us. 🙂
I love the idea of protecting my kids from the outside influences. Also not rushing out the door every morning 😊
I want to protect my child from being confused by an administration, teachers, or students who want to push a cultural or social agenda that does not align with our family values.
My greatest hope for my kids is that they know and love God and also that they love to learn.
#19 for sure
3, 9, and 20. I really love the time I get to spend with my children and I love learning alongside them. It truly is a gift! My oldest is graduating from high school and one thing I wouldn’t have been able to articulate when she was younger is that I’m so grateful that she has developed her own personal faith and way of practicing her faith and I want that for my other children as well. It’s so wonderful to see that she made it her own.
#9 and #12 resonate with me! I enjoy revisiting topics in school that I haven’t for a while. It’s also amazing how a normal day as a family can be so educational if we are intentional about it! It seems this can be done more easily in a homeschool environment. I also hope that as my kids graduate, they are well-rounded and wise about the world around them.
2. My hope and prayer is my kids will follow Jesus and love others for the rest of their lives.
We already homeschool and I am excited to read your book.
3 & 13 resonate the most with me. The time we have with our kids at home is short and sending my oldest to school has been difficult as far as missing him (his brothers miss him tons too) and wishing he was home more. We are praying about bringing him home next year and keeping our middle son home as he starts kindergarten.
3 and 20. I want my twins to be able to follow their passions and talents.