For the Second Time Today....a Rant

Another soapbox? You betcha!

We homeschool our 7 year old son. He's a very intelligent child. We do very little bookwork, but a lot of hands on. For example, he's been learning internet seaches and computer file structure. He's reading Huckleberry Finn. He's been learning anatomy & physiology from COLLEGE textbooks. (Mine - from massage therapy classes...and he knows it better than some of my classmates!) He's intensely curious. When my husband did some electrical work in our house, our son got to help, and learn about electrical wiring and how electricity behaves. He loves to watch Modern Marvels and Engineering Disasters on the History Channel. He's studying nutrition right along with me for the last couple of weeks.

So what's my rant? People who don't understand what homeschooling is and what it's all about. Think you have to have your child sitting at a table for 8 hours every day for them to get an education. We do bookwork, we just do MORE hands on. He's a kinesthetic learner. He learns by DOING. He can do all the math he's 'supposed' to be able to do at his age and more. The ONLY thing he is a bit behind in is his handwriting and spelling. He was slow to start, so I didn't push it until he was ready...but that is normal for some kids.

One specific person who is part of our family wants me to send our child to a public school. While I do believe that there are some benefits to the idea, I still prefer to homeschool. He doesn't seem to 'get it' that we have made a decision, and he needs to butt out. He told us today that we can get into trouble for not sending our child to school. He IS in school! We are even registered with the state. If the state has a problem they can come test him.

(I have heard all the arguments for and against homeschooling, so please don't post arguing with my decision. It's falling on deaf ears.)

Again, as in my last post, why can't people understand that everyone is different? Why don't people understand that this is OUR decision?