So we've decided to homeschool this year.

The first day of school is coming near, and this year we are taking a bit of a different path by keeping Matias home for school.  We wanted to share it with you, and a bit of the reasoning behind it.  

First of all...  
It’s an individual family decision.  We aren’t doing this out of disgust for schools...I am a teacher and we both believe strongly in public education.  We aren’t motivated to make our kids the smartest, or the most independent, the most sheltered, or the weirdest. This isn’t a permanent education decision for our family. It’s simply what works for us in the now.

There are multiple reasons that we’ve chosen to do preschool at home with Matias.

A few reasons that we are willing to share with you include:

• Our little man is very unique.  Yes, I know that all children are unique.  But if you've spent any time at our house, you know that it is especially true for our son.  He has some wonderful gifts, but also struggles with some challenges that make traditional, 5-day a week PreK a bad choice.

• Our preschool setup fell through.  Our plan for a small, 3-morning a week PreK class fell through, leaving us with 2 class options, neither of which we felt set him up for success.

• We want to let him work at his own pace.  Academically, Matias has mastered the skills he's expected to learn in PreK.  It would be a shame to hold him back and not allow him to learn things he is ready for just to keep pace with his peers.  He thrives on challenge, and we want to provide that.

• We want to respect his need for downtime.  We have found that our boy does best when he has lots of downtime to process life and relax.  He is not a kid who can be running to school, playdates and activities two to three times a day.  We are ALL much happier when he gets the time he needs.  So, to allow time for things he loves, like taekwondo and other activities that challenge him and let him socialize with other kids, we are letting go of the time commitment of preschool.  

• We are always up for an adventure.  This was not an easy choice- we realize it’s going to take patience, time, and an extra measure of grace- but it was made with lots of thought, research and prayer, and we’re excited with the possibilities.  I get to flex my teacher muscles again! (Note to my former colleagues...I excitedly got out my bins from HFLS...apparently I stored not only my teaching supplies, but a large number of bonafide, original condition Holy Family mouse droppings.  Good times...)

So in conclusion:

Is this what we think is right for every family? Nope.

Is this what we think is right for every one of our kids? Nope, Violet will be attending a T/TH 3's class.

Will we face criticism for it? Quite possibly.  Please be kind :)

Are there other unlisted factors that led us to our decision? Indeed.

Are we concerned about socialization (aka making him weird)?  Of course.

Are we sending him to Kg next year? No idea.  Crossing that bridge next year.

Do we think this is going to be a wonderful year for us?  Yes.

We will be doing a lot of normal stuff like this.

and this.

and this.

We will not be requiring him to dress like this. 

P.S. I hope I’ve communicated our decision in a most respectful way.  Schooling is a very weighty and emotion-filled topic. Every family and child has different needs.  We'd love your support and prayers as we continue to seek wisdom for parenting our wonderful, unique, and highly-amusing children

p.p.s. you can tell this post is very important to us based on the number of different font choices we've used.  I hope you have enjoyed them all...particularly this bold, underlined AND italic section.