Some of you might have heard the rumor that we're going to home school... and the rumor is true. So many people have a misconstrued idea of what homeschooling is and how it works. Because I have a degree in Persuasive Speech Communication, I often feel the need to explain myself. So here goes.
I first want to tell you that we're not homeschooling because of our school district or the teachers in our district. Molly has an awesome teacher right now. If you don't know, Molly is 5. She will be in Kindergarten next year. Mrs. Harbaugh is her teacher and she is awesome and has taught Molly so much. The teacher's aide in Molly's classroom is a lady we loved long before school started. The two Kindergarten teachers are also great teachers and I'm sure would do a wonderful job!
We are not homeschooling to hide our kids from the world. A lot of home schoolers don't want their children to see or hear anything. We obviously do not want our children exposed to filth, but that's not why we're dong this. I think it's ever so important to teach our children to be "in the world and not of it". If you don't know what that means it simply that we want our children to be able to be a part of this world and function well in it, just not act like the rest of the world. We hope they learn Biblical principles and take those principles out into the world and make a difference. We are not, however, going to hide them in a bomb shelter in the basement with hopes that they never meet children from the outside world!
I also want you to know that just in case you're confused, not all home school kids are social weirdos! If that's what you think, you are confused. We'll be taking our kids to the home school group that meets in Champaign every week. There are over 200 families involved in this home school group... that's a lot of kids! They'll also be taking music, swimming, dance and other classes! We won't tuck them away in the house forever with the hopes of keeping them here with us until they're 30 and the girls' hair can grow all the way down to their ankles and then courting them off to the preacher boy or sweet little gal (in Ryan's case) from the next town. We want our kids to be capable of social interaction and to be well rounded kids who grow up in a normal home and can function as well educated, socially active adults in our society who most importantly love God and follow His commands.
Another point I have to share is that Illinois home school laws are lax! If you ever met someone who home schools and it seems like all they do is watch Sesame Street for a few hours a day, you might be right. Illinois has very few laws regarding home schooling and you don't even have to test your children. I hope if you're reading this you know this won't fly with me. We have already purchased our curriculum from Bob Jones University Press, have our entire year planned out, including start and finish day (in May 2012), fall break and spring break, unit studies for every week, field trips and just about everything in between... all written nicely in my teacher's lesson planner. I know, I'm a nerd!
Quite simply... we are doing this because we know this is what's best for our children. We want them to have a great education, to be well rounded kids and to have fun! We just think homeschooling is the best route for us. I am not saying we'll do it forever, but for the time being, this is it.
We are super excited so please pray for us as we start this adventure! We think it's going to be great!
Sincerely,
Ma and Pa Olsen
Little House on the Prairie
Just kidding, just kidding... I just had to throw that in there!
I think this is a great idea - and if I had the patience and resources - I would consider it myself! Good luck with it all and I hope it works out for the best!
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