So… you want to start homeschooling.

The most important question you can ask yourself and your spouse is: WHY?

This one question is critical because it will shape your entire homeschool. There are as many different answers as there are homeschool families. Finding yours is critical.

Here’s mine: I love seeing understanding. That moment when a child understands something for the first time, their eyes light up, and you realize that their lives will never be the same. I loved it as a classroom teacher. I love it as a mother. I couldn’t bear the idea that someone else would get to see that in my children and I would miss it.

For years I told people a bunch of other reasons that I thought sounded better: I want to give my children a better education, I want to educate them in the world not limited to a classroom, I want to be able to take educational vacations whenever I want, etc. All great reasons, but they were not MY reason. Once I finally grasped my WHY for homeschooling, our entire homeschool changed. 

Make It Yours:

Plan an evening with your spouse, sit down, and discuss your family’s WHY.

Here are some possible answers:

• You want to spend more time together with your family.
• You want to give your children an education that incorporates your family’s religious beliefs on a daily basis.
• You live somewhere where the public school education is lacking and there are no other options for you- private or parochial.
• You are not happy with the educational opportunities that are available to your family in your community.
• You are concerned about the safety of your child at school- either emotionally or psychologically.
• Your child has learning differences that do not mesh well into the current educational models.
• Your child has medical conditions that do not allow him/her to attend traditional school.
  

Here’s the most recent one: Your child’s school district has decided they will not open in-person schools and the thought of managing “distance learning” for another nano-second is about as appetizing as nailing your tongue to your kitchen table every morning. 

There is no wrong answer, only wrong answers for YOU.

Now, here’s a super-challenge for some of you: Do you feel that God is calling you to homeschool?

Yes! That’s great.

But, I challenge you to expand your WHY beyond “God is calling me to.” What do I mean by that? I mean “Why is God calling you to HOMEschool specifically?” He calls you to educate your children, yes. But why HOMEschooling? He calls you to teach and live the faith with your children, yes. But why HOMEschooling? What is it about your HOMEschool that will meet the calling that God has given you? It’s not that “God is calling me to” is not a good enough answer, but being able to answer more specifics will be more helpful in the long-run as you craft your homeschool.

It’s OK if you don’t know yet. It’s also OK if it changes.

Having your WHY lined up helps you to answer the next two questions: HOW and WHAT.

Intentional Parenting- Part 1: Start with the Mega-Picture

Intentional Homeschool Parenting- Part 2: Why

Intentional Homeschool Parenting- Part 3: How

Intentional Homeschool Parenting- Part 4: What