post by Casey.
We started school today (now yesterday;)!!! I would have preferred to start over a month ago but it’s really not surprising that I wasn’t able to get going earlier. I was tired. I couldn’t decide on curriculum. I just didn’t wannnnttttt to;). BUT we dove in - because we had to;) - and now we’re back at it!
This is only our 2nd year and it feels like it’s just how it’s always been! Funny how that happens…you’re trying to decide on something…you’re unsure, maybe a little scared - How will I manage? What if I don't follow through or it doesn’t work out? What if it’s hard? I’m comfortable with the way things are! And then you make the change and after almost no time at all…it feels like the most natural thing in the world:).
I don’t enjoy every minute that the kids are home. Some days are hard. A lot of days I make it harder than it has to be. And I’m tired - like 8+months pregnant…at 41yo…with 6 kids…who I’m homeschooling…in a fixer-upper…TIRED;). But…BUT…it is the absolute best. No kidding:).
I love being with them and I already - almost;) - can’t remember it being any other way. Thinking back…me being here and having sent them away for almost 8hrs a day seems like the most unnatural thing in the world I could do. I feel so fortunate that we can and do, choose this. It’s hard and it’s good and there is nothing more satisfying than getting through ‘school’ with them. We started around 930AM and wrapped up shortly after noon. Then the kids played. Did chores. They rode along to dentist appointments for myself and Jacob - Rocky read a book aloud on the way.
No matter where or how your kids do school…I feel like there’s just so much pressure!! You want SO much for them. I won’t lie…having chosen to homeschool feels like a bit of added pressure. It’s all on my shoulders…no one to blame but myself. I’ve already noticed the kids being ‘quizzed’ multiple times about what they’re learning, if they know x/y/z, do they miss going to school/friends/etc…I definitely thought that was an exaggeration prior to witnessing it ourselves;).
Homer may not know his primary colors;) but he’s already read multiple books on stocks and investing - and even invested some of his own money in a real stock! Theo has no interest in group sports but is able to groom our dogs (and get paid to do it!:). The girl knows more about dog breeds than anyone I’ve ever known! Rocky can’t sit still for more than 27seconds but I can hold a book for him to read aloud while he creates something out of Legos! Ike cried almost every day going to preschool…and he cried this morning getting through his letters;) BUT he works hours, after he finishes his school work, on building his fort outside and creating wooden crosses. And I don’t really know if they’re ’ahead’ or ‘behind’ but I think they’re doing just fine:) and they can all recite John 3:16 by memory and I couldn’t be prouder:).
With any luck (and a lot of continued commitment and determination on my part;), Mae + Evan + the new baby will never know anything different than being home with me.
I hope that all our babies have the best 2024/25 school year!!
Below are a few photos from our first day or 2 and some general facts on homeschooling!!:)
- Taxpayers spend an average of $16,446 per pupil annually in public schools, plus capital expenditures (National Education Association, 2023). The roughly 3.1 million homeschool students of 2021-22 represented a savings of over $51 billion for taxpayers. This is $51 billion that American taxpayers did not have to spend.
- Taxpayers spend nothing on the vast majority of homeschool students, while homeschool families spend an average of $600 per student annually for their education. Families engaged in home-based education are not dependent on public, tax-funded resources for their children’s education.
- Homeschooling is quickly growing in popularity among minorities. About 41% of homeschool families are non-white/non-Hispanic (i.e., not white/Anglo).
- The home-educated typically score 15 to 25 percentile points above public-school students on standardized academic achievement tests (Ray, 2010, 2015, 2017; Ray & Hoelzle, 2024).
- 78% of peer-reviewed studies on academic achievement show homeschool students perform statistically significantly better than those in institutional schools (Ray, 2017).
- Homeschool students score above average on achievement tests regardless of their parents’ level of formal education or their family’s household income.
- Homeschool students are increasingly being actively recruited by colleges.
- Research facts on homeschooling show that the home-educated are doing well, typically above average, on measures of social, emotional, and psychological development. Research measures include peer interaction, self-concept, leadership skills, family cohesion, participation in community service, and self-esteem.
- 87% of peer-reviewed studies on social, emotional, and psychological development show homeschool students perform statistically significantly better than those in conventional schools (Ray, 2017).
- Adults who were home educated are more politically tolerant than the public schooled in the limited research done so far.
- One researcher finds that homeschooling gives young people an unusual chance to ask questions such as, “Who am I?” and “What do I really want?,” and through the process of such asking and gradually answering the questions home-educated girls develop the strengths and the resistance abilities that give them an unusually strong sense of self.
- Some think that boys’ energetic natures and tendency to physical expression can more easily be accommodated in home-based education. Many are concerned that a highly disproportionate number of public school special-education students are boys and that boys are 2.5 times as likely as girls in public schools to be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
- 69% of peer-reviewed studies on success into adulthood (including college) show adults who were home educated succeed and perform statistically significantly better than those who attended institutional schools (Ray, 2017)
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