[strvnwritr]

Hi Ladies,

I have two children, including a son who is in kindergarten at a public school. I considered homeschooling for a long time but then we moved into a well-respected school district and I decided that it was unnecessary to home school.

While there is nothing wrong with his school or his teacher or what he's learning, my heart is simply not at peace about him being in a public school. In fact, the notion of homeschooling has weighed heavily on my heart and mind for the past few weeks.

I'm sure it's common to have concerns and hesitations but I wanted to get some feedback on them. So if you don't mind hearing my concerns and then sharing your insight, stories, advice, etc., I would be very grateful.

First, I doubt my ability to effectively educate my children.

Second, I worry that I'm not organized enough to juggle the demands of homeschooling, homemaking, and a very-part-time writing job.

Third (this is a totally selfish concern), I'm worried about not having a free day to go to the doctor or dentist or whatever.

Finally, my husband and I are planning to have more children, either naturally or as foster parents. Will I be able to simultaneously take care of a baby AND homeschool my other children?

I know my concerns are nothing new and you ladies deal with these issues every day. So hopefully you can offer some insight to help me make an educated decision.

Thank you!

[MountainMomma]

I may not be the best to answer your questions, but I am going to give you my opinion here. First, the reason I say that is because I only this past week began homeschooling. I do have some of the same concerns about scheduling and being able to effectively educate them. My thoughts though.... You have gotten your child to the point that he was ready to start school already. You have been educating him already, and you have apparently done a great job!

I'm homeschooling both of my children now (4th grade and 8th grade). I wanted to home school from the beginning, but my first husband (the children's father) wouldn't support me. When I met my second husband, we were in a good school district, and he convinced me that it wasn't necessary. It never set right with me though. We moved into a new district, and again, I thought about home schooling, but had no support. My second husband had only ever had negative experiences relating to home schooling. (The only family he knew had not socialized their children at all, and they are very odd individuals.)

It was only after we began dealing with extremely severe bullying issues that we began home schooling. On top of home schooling, my husband and I are also both full time students and we both have part-time jobs. It can be done. I think you just have to ask yourself how important is it to you? I could have fought earlier on and home-schooled my children all along, and I realize that now, but at the time... it just wasn't important enough for me.

I think being concerned over doing a good enough job educating your children is normal, but really, who better to educate them than someone who loves them and truly wants what is best for them?

In the end, only you can decide what is best for your family. I do realize that home-schooling is not the best option for everyone, so each family has to make that decision. Best of luck to you while you make these decisions!

[strvnwritr]

Thank you so much for your insight and encouragement, Stephanie. And thanks for sharing your story. It's nice to hear from the people who are actually already "in the trenches." I'm sorry that it was bullying that led you to homeschooling but I'm glad you were able to follow your heart in the end.

[BensMom]

WELCOME!

My advice... you'll never know unless you try.

People wonder how in the world they'll go grocery shopping with children in tow, but they adjust. They wonder how they'll be able to take a shower with a baby at home, but they adjust. Homeschooling is a lifestyle adjustment just like anything else. It's frustrating at first when you're trying to find your groove, but it gets easier.

Another thing to consider is that homeschooling, on average, takes only 30 minutes per grade level, per day to complete. You'd probably spend no more than 1 hour with a K-1st grader each day actively teaching or working on a project together. That doesn't mean you're not "teaching" all day, because of course you are! Even when they're babies and toddlers, they're constantly learning. The learning never stops just because there's suddenly a label ... "kindergartener".

Anything that you can't teach effectively can be taught in another way. You can rely on a DVD teacher, computer program, co-op class with other homeschooling families, private tutor, or a homeschool academy (a part-time school for homeschoolers... you go 2-3 days/wk to "school", and spend the other days at home doing the assignments).

And then of course, there's this board where you can ask all the questions you want and vent all the frustrations you want. No matter what you're up against, there's probably someone here who has BTDT and has lived to tell the tale.

[2Corinthians10:4]

Welcome!

I am pretty new at it too, but I totally agree with Chrystal. It takes some adjusting, but everything in life does. There's no hurt in trying it, and if it doesn't work out that's fine too. At least you won't be wondering 'what if' like you are now.

Good luck! The ladies here are a great resource for everything from curriculum to emotional breakdowns, so feel free to stop here with any questions you might have

[strvnwritr]

Thanks, ladies. The more I think about it, the more I really do feel like it doesn't hurt to try. As I explore home schooling further, I'm sure I'll be back with other questions