Why We Homeschool

****This blog post has been on my mind for awhile now, I've been writing and re-writing it in my mind. So please bare with me, as I try to convey those thoughts into words.****

I'm sure, as you have read my previous posts about homeschooling subjects, you must be wondering why did we decide to homeschool??!

Well, pretty much any reason a parent decides to homeschool applies to why we did...( not happy with the schools, bullying, etc..) But I thought in this post I would break it down by each reason & how it applies to us and our situation. In no particular order...

1. Unhappy with the school system - I personally feel like the schools are putting why too much pressure on children (homework starting in kindergarten, tests after tests, unrealistic standards, etc.) and I'm really not a fan of the new Common Core Standards that were put in place by some politicians in DC (seriously how do they know what's best for my child?)!!

2. Bullying - I'm sad to say it, but my child had to endure being bullied and I truly felt like the school didn't care. There was very little punishment for the bullies. I have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to people bullying my children. It probably comes from the fact that I myself was bullied growing up and I didn't feel like anyone stood up for me, so I'll be damn sure that doesn't happen to my children.

3. Pressure/Values - This one kind of goes along with the unhappiness with the school system & bullying.. I feel like today there is way too much pressure on kids to have the newest shoes, clothes, phones, mp3 players, etc... Some kids these days have their own cell phones (even nicer than my own phone) at the age of 6!!! I don't want that for my kids.. Those aren't the type of values I want instilled in them. I don't want them to feel like they are a better person for having the nicest things!!

4. Location/Travel - This was a biggy for us! Our family has pretty much been split apart for the past 3 years, it was to the point none of us could take it anymore. We love everything that Idaho has to offer for us family wise, but there are very little jobs available there. Then on the flip side North Dakota has plenty of jobs available, but NO housing/family activities & everything there has VERY HIGH costs! So being a homeschooling family works great for the fact that we can still live in Idaho, but have the flexibility to travel with Hubby for work, that way our family can always be together!! Best of both worlds!!! :-)

So those are the major reasons we decided that homeschooling would be the best for our family!

For the most part (there will always be some naysayers) people have been really supportive of our decision and that has helped us to know that our friends & family understand/respect our decision and that we have their support. Thank You!! :-)