Why I Homeschool
One of my customers emailed me the other day to ask my why I've chosen homeschooling over having my kids attend a Montessori school. I thought I had talked about that in my blog, but I guess not!
I suppose my reasons could be divided into two categories: practical and philosophical. Practically, the closest Montessori school to me that has elementary is about 25 minutes away. Actually, it's where I used to work. It's a fantastic school, but the cost is considerable. Of course, tuition is just one part of the price: once you add in the travel costs and extras like school supplies it's quite a bit of money.
Having been a Montessori elementary teacher, I have materials to fill an entire classroom. I bought a lot of stuff when I was teaching - that was before I had made an entire classroom's worth on my computer. Also, of course, I have the training too. As far as my daughter goes (she's 3), I know enough about preschool to do a credible job of working with her and I've accumulated quite a few toddler and preschool materials.
My son actually did attend a Montessori school for preschool, so I'm not against attending a school at all. But of course tuition for 3 mornings a week is much less than full-day elementary.
As far as philosophical reasons go, I find myself enjoying the freedom that homeschooling brings. I like that my children are really pursuing their own interests; that is encouraged to a certain extent in Montessori, but in a classroom full of children there are limits to how much independent study the kids can do.
I want to be flexible about it, and things may change. There is a Montessori preschool opening up near me for this next year and I'm thinking of sending my daughter there a few mornings a week. I think she would love it. The only thing we probably would never do would be traditional schooling, simply because I personally don't believe in using standardized tests, letter grades, and homework in children's education.
So, we're a schooling/homeschooling family depending circumstances and ages. So far, this mix seems to be working well. I'd love to hear your reasons to choose either homeschooling or a Montessori school for your children!
I suppose my reasons could be divided into two categories: practical and philosophical. Practically, the closest Montessori school to me that has elementary is about 25 minutes away. Actually, it's where I used to work. It's a fantastic school, but the cost is considerable. Of course, tuition is just one part of the price: once you add in the travel costs and extras like school supplies it's quite a bit of money.
Having been a Montessori elementary teacher, I have materials to fill an entire classroom. I bought a lot of stuff when I was teaching - that was before I had made an entire classroom's worth on my computer. Also, of course, I have the training too. As far as my daughter goes (she's 3), I know enough about preschool to do a credible job of working with her and I've accumulated quite a few toddler and preschool materials.
My son actually did attend a Montessori school for preschool, so I'm not against attending a school at all. But of course tuition for 3 mornings a week is much less than full-day elementary.
As far as philosophical reasons go, I find myself enjoying the freedom that homeschooling brings. I like that my children are really pursuing their own interests; that is encouraged to a certain extent in Montessori, but in a classroom full of children there are limits to how much independent study the kids can do.
I want to be flexible about it, and things may change. There is a Montessori preschool opening up near me for this next year and I'm thinking of sending my daughter there a few mornings a week. I think she would love it. The only thing we probably would never do would be traditional schooling, simply because I personally don't believe in using standardized tests, letter grades, and homework in children's education.
So, we're a schooling/homeschooling family depending circumstances and ages. So far, this mix seems to be working well. I'd love to hear your reasons to choose either homeschooling or a Montessori school for your children!
Comments:
Hi Lori
Well said. We are homeschooling because there are no MOntessori schools here and my son is way beyond his years in any school available to him. We love it but if we were back home we'd be at Richmond Montessori!!
Sounds like you are making the best of your situation! Thanks for sharing.
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