Why I decided to Homeschool

Why Home school
We started homeschooling this past August, 2006. After much prayer and research I quit my job (a job that I loved) at the Middle school here in town. I had worked there for 5 years. Amanda started Kindergarten at an elementary school and from the get go she had trouble.

First grade she did OK but the teacher and I discussed that maybe she was dyslexic. Of course, they didn't test her for it since first grade is too early according to the district. Her teachers at the school were great and wanted so much to help. So we had her hearing tested...she had fluid built up in both ears. We had tubes put in the summer between her First and Second grade year. Second grade came and we finally got the testing...she wasn't dyslexic. She had missed so much due to loss of hearing that she didn't have any phonemic awareness. Not to mention that math was giving her problems also.

Bless her heart!! Everything she was hearing was like her head was stuck in a barrel. And somewhere she never learned how to add, subtract, skip count, etc. Not that she didn't learn she just was NOT comfortable with it. She totally freaks out when you have to subtract 3 digit numbers. She can do all of the one digits all day long, but you start adding more to it and it's PANIC.

We would work with her on her homework and she would be in tears!! Imagine a second grader sitting at the dining table trying to do math and bawling. It broke your heart!! Amanda is a smart little girl but somewhere she was intimidated and she would compare herself to the other kids in the class.

She would be pulled out to go to CMC (content mastery center) and she knew she was different. She associated different with "not as smart". She called them her special classes. Now I am not knocking CMC...it is a good thing especially when it does help kids but it made my child realize that she was not doing as well as the other students.

It was then toward the end of her 2nd grade year that I sincerely started praying about Home school. There was a woman who had joined our church and she home schooled her kids. I also had a girl that I had graduated with tell me all about her home school adventures. Man, I didn't want to quit my job.

Two weeks before school started I went in and quit. Then headed over to the elementary school and unenrolled Amanda. On Aug. 14th we started school in the Cooper household. Oh, it hasn't been easy...I have had to pray many times during math time!! Not just because of her frustration but because of mine! I haven't done math in years and have tried not to!!

I purchased curriculum from BJU. I have to have organization! I'm weird that way. I'm not a "fly by the seat of my pants" type person. We look things up on the Internet, I am teaching her how to make a power point presentation for history. (I use to be the computer tech aide at the school.) We have a group that we meet with on Fridays. She is taking a cooking class and Spanish class.

We start our day off with Bible Truths and prayer. After then it's whatever subject we want. Amanda's reading has come along and she is getting more confident. Math, we work on everyday!!! Especially subtraction.

Without God this wouldn't be possible.

Have you ever been in a Middle school with about 600 students? You would not believe the language that comes out of their mouths. You wouldn't believe the disrespect they show to adults. You wouldn't believe the things about sex that they know and do! It is a sad world we live in.

That has to be the other reason for homeschooling. It's not that I am sheltering my child from these things. She will know about them but she will learn them from her godly parents. She will learn to "love your neighbor" and to "love God with all your heart, mind and soul." Now if that is bad homeschooling, then we are going to be the BADDEST!!!

I don't know why I decided to write this...I just thought there might be someone out there who is struggling with a decision. It isn't easy, but it's worth it.

God Bless!