My Decision To Homeschool

Two years ago, my husband and I decided to start homeschooling our two older daughters. There were so many factors that contributed to our decision, but most of all, we wanted to do it because we knew that time with them was precious and we wanted to spend time with them while they were still young. Early on, we agreed that I would be taking on the primary role as their teacher.

Our decision was met with mixed reaction from our friends and family. Mostly supportive but some very skeptical. The most common thing people said and still continue to say is “I don’t know how you do it! I wouldn’t have the patience to do it.” I don’t believe it’s about patience as much as it’s about will power and flexibility. I would half-jokingly tell people “Well, there is definitely yelling involved.” I mean, some days my kids just will not cooperate with the school schedule. My schedule. But it’s on those days that I am so thankful that we decided to homeschool them. We can take a break. Come back to it later. Let them chill out. And maybe let me chill out too. The flexibility that we enjoy through homeschooling is an amazing benefit.

“What about the socialization??” People always ask me this too. I personally am not worried about them being socialized. Not even one bit. My husband and I take our kids wherever we go. And these days, we are constantly surrounded by awesome, supportive people who are amazing role models for my kids. If you ever met my kids, you would see that they are happy, thriving young ladies. And I’m not just saying that because they’re mine. I truly believe it. If I’m gonna be completely honest, I am perfectly fine with  them missing out on the supposed “socialization” that goes on in some traditional school environments. It saddens me to hear more and more about the stresses that school kids have to endure these days, like bullying, cyberbullying, school shootings and other threats. We have enough of that crap in our world already. I’d prefer to let my kids just be kids and enjoy life while they’re still young.

It was a giant leap of faith for us to choose this path for our kids, especially since I have no experience with teaching but we had confidence that we were doing it for the right reasons. While homeschooling is not for everyone, I come across so many people who wish they could do it but for one reason or another, feel like it’s not an option. If fear is what’s holding you back, I say just try it out. Reach out to me and I’d be happy to share more of the nitty gritty details. I’ll also be sharing more in future blog entries on Tuesdays!!!