Why We Chose to Homeschool

Homeschool. A word that I’ve discovered to be incredibly polarizing. Are you considering homeschooling and it’s kinda freaking you out? Girl, I get it. I was a little freaked out about it too.

My daughter is mostly an extrovert. She has been attending daycare/preschool since she was a year and a half. She loves her school, has friends, and adores her teacher. So you can imagine how nerve-wracking it was for us not to get on that priority list for the next schoolyear and give her spot away.

Trust me when I say I struggled with this a lot, even after we talked about curriculum, and schedules, and are testing out different resources. However, I always knew in my heart that I would one day become a homeschooler. In 2020, I felt the calling on my heart to take the leap into it. Sooooo eto na kami.

Side note: We made this choice before the pandemic hit. Many people assume we are doing the online-distance-hybrid learning style when I say we are homeschooling. Nope. We are full-on, eyes-open homeschoolers who willingly decided to be here. I feel like that has made a difference, especially knowing God had put this on our hearts early on.

Anyway… on to the reasons!

Here are five reasons why we chose to homeschool:

1. Being a former teacher helped my family feel more prepared.

My first job was as a preschool teacher at my alma mater, De La Salle Zobel. Throughout my career in early education, I began to realize that my heart was built for a different kind of approach not found in my classroom. Close friends already homeschooling opened my eyes to the possibilities. In other words, I’ve known for quite some time that my heart was created for homeschooling. However, it doesn’t mean I’ll have an easier time, or that it’ll be fantastic every day. It simply means that I always knew we would go down this path at some point. That’s what made it easier to say yes.

I had 32 - 38 kids in my class every day, and I taught them by myself. BY MYSELF YO. Looking back, I actually don’t know how I did it, except I did it. There are a lot of things we want to pursue in our lives, and honestly, sometimes the only way to get there is to do it. Thinking about material preparation, curriculum, how to actually TEACH… it all felt familiar. Again, that doesn’t mean I’m the best at homeschooling like there is some sort of award for it. That should not be our motivation, I think. Besides, meron bang award na ganon? Mej awkward ata.

This means that even if you’ve never been a classroom teacher, I’m pretty sure you’ve taught someone something. Like teaching your children how to walk, do tummy time, or transition out of diapers. Kaya mo ‘to!

2. We are more interested in character and life skills than grades.

I have nothing against being book smart, and I am not saying being street smart is better. I think they are equally important. My desire is to build a firm foundation, where my kids understand who they are, what their values are, and their place in the world.

We want them to have time and space to pursue difficult questions and complicated answers. Questions like – what problems do I want to solve? Who do I want to serve, and how do I serve them with loving-kindness, dignity, and respect? We also want them to have time and space to discover their interests and have the opportunity to pursue them. But it is not to place pressure on them that this is what they’re supposed to do for the rest of their lives. It is for them to cultivate love and deep respect for honest, worthwhile pursuits that make them come alive. That alone is huge.

Above all, we want to equip our kids with unshakeable character, and skills that will serve them through life. For instance, how do you budget your money? How do you have an intelligent conversation? How do you honor your yesses and stand firm on your no’s? How do you overcome failure and persevere through adversity? And how do you determine what gets the majority of your time?

I believe, for our family, that we can better teach these skills from a close, personal standpoint so we can meet our kids where they are. As parents, we are held accountable for our own behavior. We cannot expect it from our kids if we don’t expect it from ourselves. So it works both ways - as we teach them about integrity, we must have integrity as well.

3. Homeschool does not mean socially awkward.

Really, how many deep, meaningful relationships do we truly have? Socialization simply means being able to interact with society in a respectable, confident, positive manner. On any given day, rarely do we find ourselves stuck in a room with 30 other people who are the same age as us. Imagine walking into a Target, finding that everyone was your age. Unlikely. Real life is not like that! We can have friends of any age, at any time. The goal is to have our kids be comfortable communicating with just about anyone. Quite the opposite of awkward.

Sometimes, when people talk about being socially awkward, they mean shy. That’s a completely separate topic, and one I like to challenge. But no, homeschoolers are quite the opposite of shy if you mean that they don’t talk or ask questions, or don’t immediately do what you ask them when they meet a grown-up their parents are friends with.

Now if you mean “what if they grow up weird?” Well, I am all for weird! Besides, what kid isn’t weird in their own way? We celebrate weird. Inappropriate, tactless, offensive, no. Weird, YES.

4. Homeschool allows kids to focus on what they’re really interested in.

My daughter is absolutely enamored with anything arts and crafts. She learns best when she is using a lot of working with her hands and using LOTS of color.

Homeschooling will allow us to dig in deep while getting messy – which is not for everyone. We won’t have to drag each other out of bed, force breakfast, argue over brushing teeth, and then race out the door to get to school. Having control over our time is important to me and we understand how much more can be devoted to what we value as a family.

What about learning to live like the rest of the world, and have to be on a schedule? To have a deadline and rush out the door? We’ll get there when it’s time to get there.

5. We get to be together for their formative years.

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons we have for homeschooling is the time we have together. Growing up, I remember how hours would stretch into days of my siblings and me not seeing my parents.

My dad had political leanings, and my mother was (and still is) an entrepreneur/concert producer. And in many parts of the Philippines, when both your parents are gone that usually means the nanny (“yaya”) is in charge of everything. (Hello to all my former yayas! I can still feel all the kurot you left on my arms! Lol)

It was difficult (and quite honestly, heartbreaking) for me to grasp why my dad missed my 8th birthday, or that when my mom finally came home I had to get to know her all over again. It dug a hole in my heart so deep, I probably made a vow to myself that I would be around for my own children as much as possible.

Real talk: When I first put my daughter in daycare (and then preschool), I often added up the hours that we were apart. It felt strange that someone else spent more time with her than her own mother. Parang mali. I don’t mean that in a guilt-trip way. I mean that in an “I know what this felt like as a kid” way.

We are fortunate that we can, for the most part, live on one salary in California. Some might say, a miracle. While there are many sacrifices I’ve made to stay home, I can never exchange the hours and days I’ve had from being around for the kids. That’s just how I’m built I guess, and I know it’s not for everyone.

Homeschooling is a huge decision, but what also gives us peace is that we know we are taking it one year at a time. Most of all, we follow God’s leading, taking the path He has carved for us. For that reason, it is what makes the biggest difference of all.