We are halfway through the first semester of school. This year we opted to educate our oldest son who is in tenth grade through home school programming. We wanted to give him an opportunity to pursue his racing extracurriculars without the constraints of public school attendance policies and restraints. The first nine weeks have come and gone, and it has been a good decision.
Our son has been able to pursue racing at several different racetracks in the Midwest. This fall he was named the track champion in his class at Port City Raceway in Catoosa, Okla. This has been a goal of his for the past five years as he has homed in on the motorsport. Now he is looking toward 2026 and setting new goals.
The flexibility and freedom of homeschool has been my favorite part. He is a teenager and not every day is perfect. We have been able to make our own daily schedule or change lesson plans to fit his racing commitments every week.
Homeschooling has also afforded him an opportunity to start his own business. We recently made an investment in a dumpster trailer and roll off dumpsters. The flexibility of his schedule has allowed him to pursue this along with other opportunities on the farm and our family businesses. His work ethic is strong.
When our oldest daughter was at kindergarten age, I had several friends who were planning to homeschool their children. This possibility seemed daunting to me at the time. When our oldest child was in kindergarten, my husband and I had four children that were age six and under. I had zero confidence in my ability to educate them at home.
Now that we are partially through the first semester, I have a lot more confidence. I have rediscovered my own education through teaching him about English, composition and world history. He completes work in Algebra II, Physical Science and Accounting II through an online homeschool program. We have also been working on important life skills contributing to home economics. He has plenty of time to work on his mechanical and motor skills in the shop.
Our oldest daughter is studying for a degree in broadcast journalism at a public university. She graduated from a very large high school in northwest Arkansas. Our youngest daughter is a senior at a small high school and plans to attend a public out-of-state university to pursue a degree in business next year. Our oldest son would like to pursue a career in the racing industry and has loads of talent and he has not even turned sixteen yet. Our youngest son is only in the eighth grade. He loves sports, hunting and fishing. He loves his friends and is a gifted writer.
I share all this experience to say I have come a long way from the frazzled stay-at-home mother I was with four small children only fourteen years ago. I have realized the unique gifts each of our children has. They each have different passions and pursuits in mind. Education is not a one-size-fits-all for our family. I am thankful for the options we are afforded to put each of our children on career path to pursue something they love, neighbor.
Jody Harris is a freelance communications specialist, gardener, ranch wife and mother of four. She and her family raise Angus beef cattle and other critters on their northwest Arkansas ranch. She is a graduate of Missouri State University. To contact Jody, go to ozarksfn.com and click on ‘Contact Us.’
