Homeschooling : the why is Step #1

Before you begin your homeschooling journey, it is important to answer the following question:

"Why Do I want to homeschool?". Over the years, I have heard many answers to this question, from "I do not want to send my children to public school" to "The parish school is not Catholic enough" to just plain "It sounds interesting".

For a Traditional Catholic, the first two replies are probably the strongest. However, it cannot just be a visceral reaction to the state of public or Catholic education. Traditional Catholic homeschooling is a way of life. Catholic teaching must suffuse all subject areas, from science to recess. Parents must provide a Catholic context to all family activities, from the decision to watch television to daily prayer. It must be orderly, carried out within the presence of God. In summary, the decision to homeschool must be a commitment that the entire family undertakes. It must be a commitment that will probably have to be renewed and reviewed often to accommodate the ever-changing stream of life events. Central to the success of homeschooling is prayer to discern whether homeschooling is right for your family and sometimes, although an unpopular idea , whether homeschooling is right for each and every one of your children.

How ready are you to begin homeschooling as a Traditional Catholic? If you homeschool already, does your curriculum, your family life, your entertainments, your home , etc truly reflect Traditional Catholicism? For the new homeschooler and the old, what do the goals for each of your children reflect ?

As you ponder these questions, consider this one for homework: What is the number one lesson each day in your homeschool? I will tell you the answer next week.