Homeschooling.
It opens the gates of learning. It provides the freedom to allow your children to love learning. It allows us as parents to follow the strengths of our children, at the same time paying attention to the weaknesses that could otherwise hold our child back.
Curriculum.
The choices are endless for us homeschoolers! They range from religious, secular, mix...mastery, sprial... Charlotte Mason, Montessori, traditional...textbook, computer based...you name it, there is a curriculum for you! It's the basis of why we homeschool. Finding the material that fits our children. Having a "one size fits all" learning material and method does NOT, in my opinion, work for children. We are all individuals. We all have our interests, our ways of thinking, our strengths and weaknesses. So why not have school cater to that. I think when schooling caters towards the child, it automatically raises their self esteem, it keeps them encouraged and most of all it helps them to LOVE learning. When we make a child learn one way and one way only, or make them learn something a certain way, not only could it ruin their love of learning, but it could potentially even leave them uneducated and fall behind...way behind.
Choosing the right curriculum is far from easy. Ask my husband. I don't know how many hours I have spent on looking at samples, reading reviews, reading mission statements of companies. Whew, it's exhausting. But it's needed. Finding that right fit for your family is key. We are only in our first year of formal homeschooling, so I don't have much experience, but from what I see and have learned, go with what your comfortable with. Go with what YOU feel will fulfill your child's learning ability. There is so much to choose from out there! That's the joy. If something isn't working, it's not the end of the road. The choices of material is ENDLESS! That's the wonders of homeschooling!
My biggest advice for new homeschoolers, like myself, is go with your gut and don't second guess. **preaching to myself in the mirror** Even if you find what you chose isn't working, your kids still won't be suffering, promise. There is no comparison of home education. That one on one (or close to one on one, depending on how many kiddos you have) quality time will over achieve anything they would get in public schooling. Even if you think they haven't learned, trust me, they have. And they will be so much better off for it!
Homeschooling gives US the parents, the freedom to pay attention to the KID'S needs...not the ideals of the what the school system thinks. I mean seriously, do they know our children? Nah. Education is supposed to be fun, engaging and whole. We have the ability to provide that. We have the ability to take the stress of "school" and turn it into a love for knowledge! Our daughter has shown that. She LOVES to learn. Always wanting to know about everything. She loves "school". She loves math, she loves reading. She loves it all. But we go at HER pace. It works! The funny thing is, even though I have a schedule set and everything planned out, she doesn't seem to notice. When she wants to slow down, we do....when she is wanting to blaze through something, we do. If she is passionate about it, it will stick!
Homeschoolers, you're all doing great. Remember we homeschool for our children. It's not a race. It's not to follow "standards" of the state. It's to grow our children, the educate them and to provide them with life skills and knowledge to become powerful and impacting people someday!