The original post is from April 2019….Edited April 2023
Kindergarten registration season is here! I remember this time of year very well. Over 13 years later, I never dreamed I would be writing a blog post about it.
It seems like a lifetime ago, but it was only a little over a decade ago when our daughter was enrolled in preschool. It was a great experience for her, although in hindsight, I can’t say that it was necessary. Her days at our church preschool were spent with plenty of play, art, Bible stories, learning, and a favorite among many preschoolers, snack time.
With only two months remaining of her time in preschool, I began to receive forms and flyers about kindergarten registration in her backpack. I vividly remember the feelings I had as I looked over the enclosed paperwork. The thought about her being away at school five full days a week made me nervous. I remember thinking, “she’s too small to go to big school”. Little did I know that there were more options than just what was tucked in her little backpack.
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The First Option – Public School
My husband and I both attended public school. Our friends went to public school, kids in our neighborhood go to a public school. It’s just the next thing you do when you’re five years old, right? It’s what your family, friends, and society expects you to do.
That was the only option sent home in that little backpack. This option was never an option for our family. There were a couple of reasons why we dismissed the option of public school. Our Christian faith was not really one of them. Politics may have played a small part. We decided it was best to steer clear of education provided by the government. I also had been hearing that our school district was one of the worst in our area. As to what that even means, I still don’t know. With so many unknowns, we couldn’t just blindly send her somewhere we knew nothing about all day long. So, that option was quickly ruled out.
The Second Option – Private School
There was only one private school in our town at the time. That school was what some call legalistic and strict, but they did have a decent reputation for a solid, Christian-based education. One day while the kids were in preschool, I stopped in for a visit. I was treated warmly by the administrators as they showed me around the classrooms. Uniformed children were working quietly in workbooks at little desks. I also saw the playground area. It was a small clearing in the dirt, where it looks like games were played. I came home and thought about that non-existent playground, the uniforms, and little desks. The thought of me having to get a job to pay for the school also weighed my mind. I wasn’t really satisfied, but it still beat out the option of public school.
The Third Option – Homeschool
This was certainly unfamiliar territory I knew nothing about. If I didn’t know a couple of families that homeschooled, I would have never known it was something legal, let alone an option. My husband and I were friends with one of the families. We were always amazed at how well-behaved, well-mannered, and normal their kids were! We invited the couple over for dinner, and most of our conversation centered around their experience homeschooling their three girls. Intrigued by this lifestyle, we were eager to learn more. My husband and I asked many questions over the next few weeks. I looked at all the types of available curriculum. We made a decision. We were going to try it for a year. In our state, you do not have to register as a school until the child is 7. What did we have to lose?
Let me say, or shout from the mountain top, that THIS WAS THE BEST DECISION WE HAVE MADE! We have never, ever regretted it. Her first year of kindergarten here at home was so much fun! She learned to read, we took several field trips, made friends, played, learned and laughed. I never worried about her being bullied, being served junk food at lunch, getting head lice (and I know lice can be found more places that just school – I’m just saying), going through scary “hide from the shooter” drills, missing the bus, planning vacation around the school’s schedule, gender confusion, political agendas, and on, and on.
Homeschooling Is Easier Than You Think.
I do not hold a degree in education or teaching. In my life before children, I worked as a physical science tech in water quality. I do consider myself a teacher, and so should you. If you have been the one teaching them to eat, talk, use the potty, use a toothbrush, etc., then you are a teacher too. There is no piece of paper that gives me any more or any less “credentials” than anyone else. What qualifies me is my desire to train our children. I know I am equipped. Want to know what else? It gets easier as they get older. The relationship, time, and pure joy we have gained with our children can never be replaced with material things we would have if I were working outside our home. I can honestly say, I don’t know why anyone would not choose homeschooling. Especially now!
Need more convincing?
If you need more convincing to keep that little one home, I strongly suggest watching the documentary Indoctrination. You can find a blog post I wrote reviewing the movie here. I even encountered my first troll with that one! Here is what he had to say about being a teacher:
Try teaching 30 students when two have autism, half a dozen are ADHD, three have the intelligence of a mushroom, 10 don’t want to be there, two have to be fed on the hour like a house plant and the rest are so hungry for an education they cry. Meanwhile, the parents of all of them are separated from one another, using the kids as pawns in their little dramas and half of them are on drugs or in prison. The grand parents are raising the kids in lieu of the real parents. And then, you so-called Christians want to take your godly example away from the very place it is needed. Damn you all.”
– Troll
It is obviously not a wise idea to put your kids on a sinking ship to try and save it!
My main purpose is to encourage you that there are options. Most people will not tell you that there are. There were no other options found in my little girl’s backpack. I’m glad I searched.
I remember all the crazy emotions and fears the year M went to kindergarten, so glad that as B gets ready for kindergarten we know he will be home with us!
Absolutely! I was so nervous. I would be even more nervous now!