Homeschoolers Work at Home -- Makes Perfect Sense to Me!To work at home while homeschooling two (soon to be three) children is
challenging. But when you think about it, working at home is the next
logical step in our journey as homeschoolers. As stated in "The Puritan Gift: Triumph, Collapse and Revival of an American Dream  ,
in 1865 Richard Cobden, the British
statesman and apostle of free trade, stated upon a visit to the United
States:"If
knowledge be power, and if education give knowledge, then must the
American inevitably become the most powerful people in the world."
Those words have inspired me to a totally different view on why working from home is such a necessity today. Before
reading this book, my main reason for starting an at-home business was
to supplement my husband's paycheck. Like most homeschoolers,
we
lived on one paycheck for a number of years. That makes things kind of
tough when you want to show your kids the world, but you're worrying
about keeping a roof over their heads. So, my reason was
admittedly a bit selfish.
I mean, aside from being married to an independently wealthy man or winning the state lottery, there's not much left to do than to go and get a job. Blech! In my mind, my most important job is to educate my children. That "9-5, sit in rush hour traffic, get bopped over the head on the crowded subway" routine just doesn't appeal to me. But maybe I'm just weird or something... Anyway, I started thinking (my husband calls it "plotting"), "How can I homeschool the kids and still help out with the bills?" So I decided to take stock of my many "talents" and came up with some darn good ideas. These very ideas have provided me with an income from home for the past five years. It hasn't always been easy, there are bumps in the road, but it is possible (and profitable!) to work at home -- and still raise great kids. After reading the book "The Puritan Gift" I came to realize that our communities and in turn the United States became such an economic force because of the cottage industries taking pride in their crafts. This pride and desire for achieving the highest level of excellence possible is what made us a strong nation. We, as homeschoolers, can lead the charge to reclaiming our heritage. The gift of hard work, community spirit and aspirations towards excellence is what we have to offer an ailing economy. Through our educational endeavors and entrepreneurial spirit we can provide our children with the skills, knowledge and power to make a difference. By setting the example for our children, we can in turn, start the next generation back on the path of economic independence and prosperity. So let's get started.
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