Why do we homeschool?

Most homeschooling families find that their reasons for homeschooling change, or at least grow, from the time they begin up to the present. I'm not talking about the families who homeschool for 1 or 2 years and then go back to public school. I'm talking about the families who commit to the long-haul in the homeschooling adventure. Many times a family's reasons remain constant throughout their homeschooling journey but with a growing list of previously unforeseen benefits. However, sometimes the reasons change completely, as when a family who leaves the public school system as a solution to a problem with the school or a teacher falls in love with homeschooling and never looks back. They embrace the homeschooling lifestyle, and it literally changes their lives. I think the latter was the case with our family.

In the beginning, my oldest son had problems with reading and fell short of his own expectations, which also caused a severe lack of self-esteem. My youngest was doing great academically, but he was on the low end of maturity--especially for his academic level. This caused “behavior problems” due to boredom of an already hyper-active and curious child. We decided to give homeschooling a try, not necessarily as a temporary solution but also not with the expectations of graduating from homeschool. It has changed our lives in so many beneficial ways that, even when there’s a tough patch—which should be expected in every journey—none of us would ever consider changing our lifestyle.

Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion has no hold on the mind. Therefore do not use compulsion, but let early education be rather a sort of amusement; this will better enable you to find out the natural bent of the child. - Plato

So, here are our
TOP 10 Reasons Why We Homeschool:

1. Our children are happy in their own skin.
2. We know our children. Personally, I'm not just a chauffeur, cook, and maid.
3. Our two boys have a relationship that few other siblings develop since peer pressure dictates that younger kids are not cool enough to hang with older kids. ;-)
4. We control what, when, and how our children learn.
5. We can spend as much or as little time as we want studying things that interests us.
6. We can go on fieldtrips to see things we're studying or participate in hands-on activities about a topic of interest.
7. Our children have many opportunities to socialize with more than a select peer group day in and day out. They have close friends ranging from 8 to 17, and they are encouraged to interact with all ages, toddler to adult.
8. Our children get plenty of sleep and are seldom sick.
9. We can "do school" anytime we want--early in the morning, middle of the day, or late at night...on the weekends, during the miserably hot summer, or even on holidays...
10. We can "go to school" in our pajamas--i.e., school is a relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere that makes learning comfortable! :-)

The boys have their own

TOP 10 Reasons Why They'd Rather Homeschool:

1. Public middle & high schools are all about popularity.
   (13yo elaborated—“if you’re not popular then you get treated badly”)
2. You don't have to get up at 6:00am!
3. No "homework".
4. You have a better variety of things to learn about.
5. You get to learn about whatever you want to learn about.
6. You don't have to wait until the weekend to hang-out with friends.
7. You can have "recess" whenever you need it.
8. Your teacher doesn't scream at you to be quiet while you're learning.
9. You get to actually do stuff instead of just read about it.
10. You get to meet lots of different people and have friends of all ages.