Throughout my life, I have been faced with many major decisions that seemed to involve choosing one of several reasonable options.  Usually, however, an inner nudge or a still small voice inside of me would nag at me, leading to the very best decision even if that decision did not make sense at the time. (Now that I think about it, that seems to often be the right answer: the one that seems not to make much sense from a worldly point of view!) The decision to homeschool was no different. I, along with my husband, decided that homeschooling was simply the very best option for our family. Let me try to explain why.

1. Homeschooling is best for our growth as a family. We recognize that living as part of a family is God's mandate for us yet the skills to do so may not always come naturally. People spend years and many dollars learning other (ususally job-related) skills but focus so little on what is most important-family. How many of us know doctors, lawyers or teachers who have excellent professional skills but their family lives are a mess? We want to learn and teach our children about the finer points of sharing a home and significant relationships. I am a child of divorce so this is especially important to me. We believe very strongly that Americans are destroying the fabric of our nation because of our lack of strong families that we feel committed to helping reverse this trend.
2. Homeschooling is best for our desire to follow biblical teachings regarding the importance of "training up a child in the way he should go". Although it may be possible to transmit knowledge of important morals, values and religious teachings afterschool and during school vacation periods, we believe that teaching in these areas is too important to be relegated to the scraps of a child's learning time and added to already overstuffed schedules. Furthermore, we were troubled by the lack of "neutrality" in most school settings. Instead of schools being indifferent to Christian morals and values, they are frequently downright hostile to them. We do not feel it is appropriate for a young child to be confronted daily with an institution which is anti-God  and which forbids any entry of God in its hallways. We believe we honor God by infusing our children's education with the Word of God not just in formal teachings but throughout the course of our everyday life.
3. Homeschooling is best for academics. It is well-known that most children learn best one-on-one with individualized learning plans. Schools are trying to reduce class sizes and implement IEPs while parents are busy hiring tutors and sending their children for academic enrichment after a busy school day to address this key issue. Homeschooling allows for the entire educational experience to be an individualized one taught by a teacher committed to honoring the child's learning style. Whether your child is gifted or suffers from a learning disability, homeschooling can allow your child to reach his highest potential. We knew we definitely wanted that for our children. Early on, we diecided that whether or not our children were significantly out of the norm in their learning styles, they would nonetheless benefit from homegrown instruction tailored to their needs and co-ordinated, managed or directly taught by parents who love them very much.

For our family, homeschooling is the VERY BEST choice. It very well may be the same for your family. Please consider homeschooling.