Again, I Reiterate! The Many Reasons I Choose to Homeschool MrBaby AKA as Karl

Oh, let me count the ways, I mean reasons...

And there are many of them.

1.  Convenience!  If we want to stay up late visiting a friend, or looking at the stars, or the moon, or a storm, or even just a movie, we can, and there's no need to worry about being sleep-deprived the next day. 
If we want to eat breakfast at 10 am instead of 7 am, we can.  If we want to go to the store at 1 in the afternoon, we can.  If we want to do a lesson on shadows and how they move across the yard, we can do that, too, all day!

2.  Health!  Our health isn't compromised by our school district's funny stance on health issues.  One example is that even if your child is sick, has lice, or another communicable disease, you're told that you must send your child to school.  Privacy regulations now prevent school staff from informing other parents when there is an outbreak of lice at FWCS (Fort Wayne Community Schools) so it can spread like crazy!  When you homeschool, you know what your student body has.

3.  Bully-free!  There are no bullies in homeschool environments.  FWCS are full of them, and these bullies are not just students, but some of the teachers.  'Nuff said there!

4.  Better quality teachers!  Yes, I said it.  Homeschools, at least ours, have better quality teachers, who aren't going to gripe about the pay (wow, we get zero, and still do it), go on strike, try to have sexual relationships with the students, or lose a kid on the bus.  FWCS refuses to hire qualified, according to Indiana's DOE standards, substitute teachers if they don't want to become full time teachers.  So someone with a master's degree in Liberal Studies gets told no, and students get substitute taught by, guess who, the PRINCIPAL, or any other staff member available.  No way, I want better than that for my child.  And when the rare occasion happens that I don't know how to explain something, I always have Google!

5.  Better quality socialization!  I get to decide who my child socializes with, not some teacher who doesn't have the same standards I do.  My child socializes with adults, and other children, not just other children.  He is going to grow up to be an adult, not a child.  Right?

6.  Religion!  I get to include religion, and prayer, in our homeschool, and no one can say 'you're fired' to me for doing it.

7.  Tailor-made to my child!  If an opportunity presents itself, I can use that to teach something that otherwise might not have been taught.  I've taught several different things, including cooking, how to clean something up, several different life cycles beyond just the typical butterfly lesson, currents, and so many other things, that will rarely, if ever, be taught in a traditional school.  If he wants to learn about, or I think he's ready, anything, it can be taught.  I can also teach different grade levels at one time.  He's in kindergarten for reading, 1st for math, and about 3rd for science.  Social studies is about 2nd grade.  There are many things he learns that aren't covered in traditional schools until middle or high school, such as psychology, simple mechanics and shop class, cooking and home economics, sewing...  And he gets almost unlimited recess, and arts and crafts that doesn't have to worry about cuts in funding.  There's also music that we get to do, plus he's learning how to make his own videos.

8.  Safety!  I know where my child is, I don't have to worry about not getting him back at the end of the day, and getting a dreaded phone call from someone at the school. 

9.  Consistency and discipline!  I don't have to worry about my son ever being expelled or suspended.  I am the teacher, there are no substitutes, he knows what he can expect, every day, every 'class,' every year.  It won't change.  He knows I love him, I let him throw his fits when he wants things another way, and eventually he asks, almost every time, 'I'm not gonna win, am I?  I really have to try this?'  He doesn't get suspended for taking up time.  Which leads to...

10.  Time!  We have all the time we need to teach and learn that we need.  I'm not on some crazy schedule (except when it's a science experiment, and then sometimes we are) that forces me to give up quality and quantity to meet someone else's expectation of me, him, our teaching or learning experiences.

11.  NO ISTEP!  That's right, we have no ISTEP testing.  None!  My son's education focuses on teaching and learning, discovering, fun, creativity, NOT standardized testing.

12.  Portability!  We can use many different resources, and take our homeschool anywhere we go.  I've taught him in Walmart, restaurants, at the park, while camping, on the bus - everywhere! 

So homeschool is the right choice for us.  It makes me mad that some people suggest he's not being socialized.  Then I have to laugh at them, because it's like they assume I put him in a box and teach  him there.  That's their main concern, is that he isn't socialized.  School isn't about making friends, it's supposed to be about learning, and making friends comes second.  There are no other children being taught here that are going to detract from his learning by distracting him from what I am teaching.  There are no spitballs, or glue hands, or broken crayons being flung around the room.  There is no lice outbreak I don't find out about until my own child has it.  These concerned people, I've found, are usually uninformed about what homeschool really is, and also very conformed to society's standards, and I'm not going to let me son suffer for their shortcomings. 

Socialization?  He gets plenty, and not just from other children, but also adults and teens.  Do kids in traditional school get cooking lessons in kindergarten?  Learn beginning physics and mechanics in 1st grade?  Learn how to build in 2nd grade?  No, sadly, they don't.  Do they get exposed to communicable diseases and parasites, without being told there's a risk?  Yes, they do.  Do they get exposed to poorly qualified teachers?  Yes, they do.  Do they have to go out in the cold, in the dark, to wait on the bus or walk to school, and then spend most of their day inside during the winter, with no sunshine?  Yes, they do.  Do they get homework that keeps them from spending time with their families or hobbies that they want to pursue?  Yes, they do.

I want better than that for my child, and that's what I give him.  I know several children who go to regular school.  Some are brats, mean, petty, stingy children, others, who go to the same school, are great kids, who are respectful, helpful, kind, and listen to their parents.  Schools don't socialize children like many think they do.  Parents, families, they socialize kids for the most part.  Not schools.  If they did, you would see more kids acting exactly the same as the kids in their classrooms.