Yes, I Homeschool

December 22, 2019 by  
Filed under Humor, Stories

By Jodi Whisenhunt –

I homeschool. OK, that’s not the funny part of this column. Then again, maybe it is!

I’ve been at this task since 2000, so you can say I’m no newbie. We’ve done many silly things in the name of learning. We’ve studied entomology while pulling weeds from the garden. We’ve made breadstick numbers to go with dinner. We’ve learned about the water cycle when filling the pool (again). But I never cease to be amazed at the crazy ways people object to what we do.

  • “Your kids won’t know how to socialize.”
  • “You kids will miss out on proms, football games, and dating.”
  • “Your kids won’t know how to stand in line.”
  • “Your kids won’t know to raise their hand to speak.”
  • “Your kids will be with you all day long.”

My children have never had trouble making friends or maintaining friendships. They hang out with kids of varying ages, even with some who go to regular school. Weird, huh?

My teen has attended Homecoming. There are area homeschool proms. We have several large athletic organizations where we live. In fact, the HSAA (Home School Athletic Association) Dallas Angels Varsity baseball team won the national Home School World Series this past spring!

Dating varies by family, of course, but my son does have an active social life. He is also a leader in his church youth group and writes his own devotional blog for teens, with some posts directed specifically at dating and relationship topics.

I’m really not sure the relevance of learning to stand in line or to raise your hand to speak, but I’m pretty confident that if my kids were in a situation that required either of those activities, they’d be able to follow the rules.

Now, as for my kids being with me all day long…why is that a bad thing? A well-meaning neighbor whose kids attend public school (and who thinks summer break is excruciatingly long) told me, “I don’t know how you homeschool and stay home with your kids 24/7!” One time all three of my children caught swine flu on a week we were to have a family gathering. When I called to cancel plans with my sister-in-law, whose kids attend private school, she said, “It’s weird how y’all caught that. You homeschool!”

Um, we do leave the house. We do go out into the world. We do take classes. We attend coops, museums, performances. We—gasp—grocery shop! We even eat out and vacation too. Some of that is done together, and yes, some is done apart. We look upon the time we have together as priceless, precious moments. My husband and I choose to be the ones to guide our children into adulthood, to be the ones responsible for their upbringing. We choose to fulfill our God-given duty to “train a child in the way he should go.” And we also choose to continue to walk this path as long as the Lord allows.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And this is how.

About Jodi Whisenhunt

Jodi Whisenhunt is a Christian wife, mom, homeschooler, writer, editor, kid taxi, very tired person who is blessed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. She is an Amy Writing Award recipient and the Senior Content Editor of The Christian Pulse. Her highly acclaimed Magical Mouse Schoolhouse (http://www.magicalmouseschoolhouse.com) shows kids how to learn while they play when Disney IS school.
  • Advertisement

Comments

6 Responses to “Yes, I Homeschool”
  1. From one homeschooler to another–Amen, sister!!!!

  2. Hally Franz says:

    As a counselor in the public school system, I occasionally enrolled students who had been home-schooled previously. I found there were some that hadn’t had good homeschool experiences, but many homeschooling parents did a fabulous job. Those children were often quite social,had great interpersonal skills and were quite bright. I admire those parents that are doing it well.

  3. Dianne says:

    Amazing the cliches some people believe. It is quite funny!

  4. Tara says:

    Well said, Jodi!

  5. “Your kids won’t know how to stand in line.” Um….send them to Target? A sporting event? A county fair?

    Some arguments against homeschooling are extraordinarily silly, aren’t they. But the funniest thing about this argument is that homeschooled kids learn SO much during the time they are not standing in lines!

    My son went to public school, home school, international school, then public school again with a gifted education program. But when he transitioned from 3rd at the public school to 4th at home, I did a little experiment.

    I borrowed the 4th grade books from the public school (after all, my taxes helped pay for them) and added some Christian curriculum. Silly me, I thought the public school would get through all the books by the end of the year, so we pushed for that. We got through them all, including extended learning activities, in 6 months and about 4 hours a day. We then added computer keyboarding, musical keyboarding, and world studies. We traveled to museums and concerts. He was involved in drama and sports, and playing with other kids after school like every other boy.

    We found out from his previous classmates that they never finished any of the textbooks. I know other extended learning was going on. But my son thought it was because standing in lines (in preparation for recess, lunch, music, PE, etc.) took up a whole lot of time!

Speak Your Mind

Tell us what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!


Prove You\'re Human: *