Holding the Power- book blog

Pennsylvania is one of the strictest in America when it comes to evaluating and judging homeschoolers. Students have specific subjects they must cover as well as logging specific hours or days. It made me even more cautious when making the decision to home school, as I was not completely confident in my ability to be a good leader. Plus, I was worried about losing my life, dissolving into my children, forgetting I had personal needs or goals. Educating your children is not something to be taken lightly. It is too impacting.

When I finally decided to allow my children to quit public school, I told them they were going to have to do this. I had no interest in sitting next to them, learning Algebra II or Chemistry; like I used to sit next to them when they were very young, crocheting cotton dishcloths while they filled in work sheets.

What is wonderful about homeschooling is although you must complete so many years of sciences, for example, you can pick what kind of science you want to learn. Sierra picked Chemistry because at the time she thought she wanted to be a wildlife biologist. She secured a Chemistry video and taught herself.  Bryce, on the other hand, had no interest in Chemistry, but he did in Extreme Weather and he researched it with a passion. Because he was permitted and encouraged to pursue the type of science that impassioned him, his interest in learning did not wane.

This is the beauty of home schooling- the desire to learn never stops because very often you get to decide for yourself what you want to learn. This is BIG power.  With choices in your life, you have power over your life. This very important lesson- that you can design and create your education, leads to knowing that you can design and create your life. For a school-aged child to learn this fact, that they are in charge, leads to responsibility. There is little room to pass the buck and blame someone or something else if you discover you are not happy in your life. Homeschooled children learn early that they can have whatever kind of life they choose. Sadly, many people never learn this and turn into bitter, resentful, disillusioned, jaded adults who never realized that they held the power.