From the Mom:

For the past several years I have found myself constantly thinking, “I want to teach ______ to my kids, but I just don’t have time!”  My two boys were coming home from school every day too exhausted to play, to eat well, to interact with me or each other.  My daughter was so uptight from sitting all day, holding in her frustration and nerves, that she was an explosion walking through the front door.  Enough was enough!  I wanted my kids to be KIDS, to have time to play, to live out life in a slower pace than the world has chosen for them.  Whatever I teach them can be acted upon in real life situations instead of artificially enacted problem solving on paper.  Most of all, I wanted them to grow up with MY values, not the valueless mumbo jumbo, “follow your heart” and “do what feels right” junk that is pervasive in our society.  So there you have it.  We are living life slow and easy.  It’s so great I almost feel guilty. You should try it! BTW, we are saving money homeschooling, unlike the myth that says no one can afford to do it.  We don’t go out to eat, we find freebies, we get creative, and we live on less.  It’s not even painful

From the Dad:

From the beginning I had no interest in participating in Laura’s homeschool experiment.  My job was to run the business and Laura to run the business and homeschool   Once she began I realized that I had a deep longing to connect with the kids on this level.  Laura pulled me in and I think it was her plan all the time.  Now I can’t imagine not being a part of this amazing, fulfilling journey that we are on.  We are learning so much more than the kids.  Life is much simpler and sweeter.  On the other hand, the kids get to see us no matter what kind of day we may be having.  They get to see the real Matt and Laura.  We have chosen the narrow path and that has made all the difference!

From Emilina (in her own 11-year-old words

I wanted to homeschool because I felt school was very pressured and stressful.  Some of my teachers were scary and yelled a lot.  I had been accused a lot of doing bad things (like saying cuss words) and bullied a lot because I am a girl with attitude.  I don’t like people older than me.  I felt tests were very frustrating.  Sometimes I had to do things I didn’t feel comfortable doing (like answering questions in class and people stare at me).    I don’t feel so pressured anymore.  I feel more relaxed.  Instead of sitting around at a desk all day we can take field trips whenever we want and I can get up and run around when I need to.  If I feel hyper I can jump on the trampoline.  The lessons are more laid back and class isn’t as long.  I love Spelling and Journaling.

Pedro (in his own 8-year-old words):

I thought homeschooling would be super fun.  Six hours in school is a lot, so I didn’t like that when I went to public school.  I know this is the wrong word to say, but I hated it.  I love Journaling, Spelling and sometimes Math with Dad.  I like Bible with Mom.  We get to do fishing, free time (cause at school we only got 30 minutes of free time, usually at the playground or basketball court), play with my brother and play outside.

Michael (in his own 6-year-old words):

I wanted to homeschool because I just wanted to.  That’s it.  Oh, and I like basketball and drawing and doing Phoenics.  I like doing my videos.  I liked going to school before, but I like playing with my brother and that’s all!