One could probably tell that I have just started a new quarter and am really having a problem with procrastination by the number of blogs I have posted lately...but I have spent a lot of time contemplating a big choice. Ariel and I have always planned on homeschooling our kids. Ar was homeschooled all the way through school and it turned out great for him. When Isaac was two or so, I became very inspired by a book about Classical Homeschooling.
Now I am quite suprised to find myself very unsure if I want to homeschool at all. I sent the kids to school this year partially because I felt overwhelmed by having four kids, let alone trying to homeschool them. I still love many things about homeschooling - but I am also really pleased (so far) with our local public school system. The other thing that I didn't figure on four years ago was that I may not be the ideal homeschool Mom. Ariel's Mom was a wonderful and patient teacher who was very happy to stay home with her kids for the 20+ years it took them to get through school. I tend to be a bit over extended (hmm...to put it mildly) and am not so sure that homeschooling four kids is one of those things you can just fit in, like graduate school :).
Luckily Ariel and I don't have to make any decisions now. The kids seem to be thriving where they are, but the question is looming in my future: To homeschool or not to homeschool?
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4 comments:
I vote that you send them to the public schools! I know it worked well for Ariel, but seriously, as a kid, all the home school kids who went to church with me growing up were socially whacked.
I'm sure you already know my answer ... but not just because of the social aspects (which my poor siblings have battled from their years in homeschooled isolation - not always a given, but sadly a frequent outcome), but because our mom wasn't really the type who could sit us down and give us a structure to learning. We basically had textbooks and were left on our own. Even though I experienced lots of frustrations with the public school system, I really got a lot out of having teachers who were engaged in my learning process with me. Even if you want to be that structured homeschool mom, maybe that's not the best thing for you. You have so many other identities in addition to "mom" and you should give yourself the time and space to develop them!
I tend to think along the lines of Rene... unless home school kids get a lot of other social interaction, their ability to interact is not so great. And then right now, my step-sister (high school age) is home schooled and she doesn't get very much done. It is hard to avoid procrastinating and to keep deadlines, unless the student is really motivated. Good luck with your choice.
I read this post not too long ago and wanted to share it with you ~ it opened my eyes to the whole home school idea.
http://www.jennyvorwaller.com/blog/?p=1541
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