Why should you homeschool?…Â Stop waiting for time to pass, and start choosing how to pass your time!
I bet a lot of you are like me and attended public or private school growing up. Large class sizes with one teacher often meant wasted time sitting at my desk. I would whittle hours of time away… just watching the clock and waiting. Waiting for the teacher. More waiting for other students. Still more waiting for the class period to be over. Waiting for the bell to ring. More waiting for the lunch line to move. Even more waiting for the school bus to come. WAITING! Well, that brings me to one more reason why you should homeschool… so you can stop waiting for time to pass and start choosing how to pass your time!
Free time gives children time to pursue personal interests, develop hobbies, and learn new skills.
There are so many things our children can do with their free time! When children are young, free time simply gives children time to think, to imagine, and to play! Free time such as this for young children is the springboard for future interests, hobbies, and skills. God has given each child different gifts and talents, and free time gives children time to discover them.
An Example of Free Time Helping Children Pursue Personal Interests
One of our sons as a young boy loved to build with legos, castillos, and blocks. Heart of Dakota’s art, history, and science projects helped him learn how to build things systematically, step-by-step. I was glad Heart of Dakota’s hands-on projects allowed for creativity, so he could design his own project rather than make a cookie-cutter project. Through the years, I have watched his creations become more and more intricate. With a lego computer program, I have seen ample 3-D creations be designed and then be built. I imagine this personal interest could impact his future career, in a field such as drafting or engineering.
An Example of Free Time Helping Children Develop Hobbies
Our sons as young boys rode old 3-wheelers that my husband fixed up one at a time. They could often be seen racing around the yard on their 3-wheelers in the spring, summer, and fall. In the winter, they made a figure-eight track through the snow, hooked up a sled to their 3-wheelers and raced some more. I asked my husband for his brothers, who are excellent welders, to make small trailers to hook up to 3-wheelers. Soon I saw 3-wheelers with trailers whizzing to the garden to pick raspberries, down the gravel to exercise our dogs, and around the yard to pick up sticks.
One by one, each of the 3-wheelers broke down. They were old, so it was inevitable. I watched my husband fix each of the 3-wheelers, one by one, with whichever son owned the broken down 3-wheeler. Recently, I watched one of our sons rebuild an entire 3-wheeler with my husband’s help. I believe this will be a lifelong hobby for this son!
An Example of Free Time Helping Students Develop New Skills
Our sons as young boys built a tiny snow fort that promptly fell down. However, as they matured, they discovered making snow ‘bricks’ out of ice by adding water to slabs of snow made stronger bricks. I watched their tiny snow fort grow to a massive snow fort through the years. This was all under the tutelage of one of our sons. He took a keen interest in building things, systematically, step-by-step in a way that would cause them to last.
I watched him lead his brothers in carefully creating a final fort that would withstand the elements for longer and longer periods of time. In fact, I took a picture of one of their snow forts surrounded by grass! The fort withstood the spring’s warmer temperatures for longer than I’d have imagined! A few years later, I watched as this son built our retaining wall with cement bricks using a similar concept! Brick by brick, the retaining wall emerged, and it still stands strong today!
In Closing
I have found giving our sons free time gives them time to pursue personal interests, develop hobbies, and learn new skills. I think you would find the same to be true with your own children! So, in closing, why should you homeschool? So your children can have free time to discover the gifts and talents the Lord has given them! Why not homeschool, so you can stop waiting for time to pass, and start choosing how to pass time?!?
In Christ,
Julie
