At age three, Andrew transitioned from an early intervention program into our local school district. I was shocked to discover that the bus would pick him up at 6:50 am and drop him off at 4:30 pm. We live in a rural area so there is no choice of school districts. The issue, however, was not with the school district itself but rather with the difficulties of the distance and rural roads. In my mind, Andrew did not need to be in a bus or at school for such a long period of time. I wanted my three-year old home with me for more hours than he would spend at school and on a bus. To no one’s surprise, we chose to homeschool Andrew.
Why We Chose to Homeschool
I remember telling the school official that the amount of time away from home was not acceptable for a young child. Driving to school would have added up to 70 miles a day, 350 miles a week. To make matters more difficult, I flew for the airlines and had an irregular schedule. When I announced that I would homeschool, the official became deadly silent. I quickly added, “Oh! Don’t worry, I homeschooled my other two children and neither are in jail yet! They are social (That’s always the first concern, right?), intelligent, capable, young adults. I’m sure I can do this again.”
Home Education Begins at Birth
Homeschooling is not for everyone and for some families it is not a possibility but what parents don’t realize is that everyone has homeschooled their children at some point. We begin teaching our newborns at birth (or adoption) until the day the child enters a formal school. Homeschooling Andrew over the last eight years has simply been a continuation of what began at birth.
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