Why homeschool?

Every family has reasons for choosing to homeschool, and most, if not all, of those reasons are valid. Homeschooling is a blessing and a joy! It is no secret that our public schools are failing our children and that most private schools are impossible for many families living on a tight budget. We all want to give our children the best. Homeschooling is best!!!

When you homeschool, you do not deprive your children of anything. On the contrary, children are nourished from within. Homeschooling strengthens the bonds between siblings, creates strong thinkers, allows children to pursue their interests fully, and, most importantly, allows catholic parents to pass their faith onto their kids. The catholic church recognizes that parents are the primary educators of their children.

The Catechism, under the section "Duties of Parents," explains the role of parents in their children's education:

Parents' role in education is so vital that it is almost impossible to provide an adequate substitute. The right and the duty of parents to educate their children are primordial and inalienable.

Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule. The home is well suited for education in the virtues.

CCC 2221, 2223

We have a responsibility that goes beyond core subjects.

In Deuteronomy 6:7, we read:

"You shall teach [the words of God] diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way when you lie down, and when you rise up."

We are the ones that delineate our children's path to heaven. We are raising saints!

Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go,

And when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Homeschooling parents take an active role in their child's education by knitting their way to academic greatness through God and the church. The value of homeschooling goes beyond textbooks and subjects; it surpasses any other learning environment because it's complete, leaves no gaps, checks all the boxes on the academic side, and raises children made in the Image of God. When you choose to homeschool, you are choosing a vocation that lasts a season of your life, and when that season is set and done, you will look back and say, "That was the most glorious thing I was blessed to do!!! Because you will see the fruits of your labor.

So why homeschool? Because Mary and Joseph gave us an example. Because we strive to imitate the Holy family and if we genuinely want to give our children the best, we are willing to offer this season of life to their education.

If you are still reading, you can easily deduct that I am partial to homeschooling, but despite that, I understand that not all families can homeschool. Nevertheless, parents are still the primary educators of their children, and when choosing what is best, they must actively fill the gaps that a traditional classroom cannot.

If you are homeschooling and have any doubts lean on Christ. You got this! If you are contemplating the possibility of homeschooling, lean on Christ because he may be calling you to something great!

Proverbs 3:5: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

By,

Michelle Vazquez

JMJ