Why we chose to homeschool!
I can’t wait to share why we chose to start homeschooling our two older children (Andrew and Genevieve).. And let me start by saying, I NEVER considered homeschooling. I went to public school, my husband went to public school, it just wasn’t something I/we ever thought about. I grew up near an Amish community and the stereotype of a “homeschooled kid” was a lot different from what I have seen recently. I thought that if you homeschooled your child, that meant they would never see civilization again, they couldn’t have friends.. the list goes on.
Let me give you a glimpse of what helped us come to this decision, and what our classroom looks like!
Over the last year or so, I had a little voice in the back of my mind just giving me these thoughts about homeschooling. I was afraid to mention it because it didn’t seem possible, and I didn’t know what the other adults in the home would think. In case you are new to our page, we are a big happy family.. my husband and I, live alongside my parents with our four kids aka 8 people, under one roof. It can be a lot.
One day there was something really scary happening in a school across the country and I expressed the feeling of wanting to bring the kids home to school. My mom said to me “if you are going to homeschool them, do not let it be out of fear”.. that really sat with me.
The thoughts kept coming and going, and swirling around from time to time, and then about 9 weeks into the school year, Andrew had some issues at school with his teacher that we needed to address. I felt like he needed to be changed to another teacher or else I would need to pull him out, I felt as if I had no other choice. He ended up getting switched to another classroom but it still was not a great fit. He was moved to a bi-lingual classroom and most children were Spanish speaking only, and it drove his anxiety through the roof. The traditional classroom setting was very difficult for him, and he could not sit still. When I say could not sit still I mean, COULD. NOT. SIT. STILL. to the point that he’s looking at a possible ADHD diagnosis. It made him so nervous that he would move and get in trouble that he would start biting his arms, fingers, and nails down until they bled.
That was not ok to us.
We decided we needed to really starting taking this idea seriously and thinking about the fundamentals of homeschooling and how we could make it work. We explained what homeschooling was a few times, and casually asked him if he would want to be homeschooled or continue at public school. We couldn’t even finish our sentence, he yelled so loud and happily that he wanted to be home. That was when we knew. He wouldn’t stop talking about it and suddenly Genevieve decided that she wanted to follow along with her brother and be home also!
We have spent the last few months looking at every curriculum option, as I wanted something more structured for myself compared to “unschooling”. We knew we wanted something that was Christian based for them, and as much as I swore I wanted something teacher led.. we decided against it. My mom was my word of wisdom again and said “how much involvement do you want.. ask yourself that.” That’s when I knew that if we did a teacher led video program that my involvement would be minimal, and that might defeat the purpose that WE were going for. We were dead set on a program, and almost purchased, when we found a local teacher supply store and they introduced us to Master Books.
It’s like God was pulling us to that store that day.
I took pamphlets home for the programs, read through everything, read their site. I went to their facebook page, became a member and started asking questions and felt accepted and felt at home. We decided on purchasing their curriculum for 1st grade for Genevieve, and 2nd grade for Andrew. While we waited to “start” our new school year and let them finish our their current years in public school we set up their classroom. We know it’s not 100% necessary but with having 2 younger siblings, we wanted to have a space for them that we could shut the door and close of distractions if we need to.
Oh.. and I tend to go a tad overboard when i’m nervous. If it’s pretty, then obviously it will go way smoother right?
I will have to do another post about the decorations in the classroom another time if it’s wanted, but all in all, it was a fun to put together!
With 6.5 weeks left in the school year, we decided to withdrew them from public school and bring them home. As much as I wanted them to stick it out at school, they were begging to be home and every day felt like torture to them. I couldn’t do that to them anymore.
We learned about the “deschooling” process (different than unschooling) and wanted to give them time to adjust to different learning situations. Basically, it’s about giving the kids time to relax and out of the institutionalized way of thinking about learning. Their first week home we laid pretty low, and did our normal routine, ran errands and hit up a free museum we haven’t been to before.
We went to the The Las Cruces Museum of Nature and Science, and they learned without even knowing it!
Once all of their books arrived I started setting everything up for their first week of school and kept trying to decide on the perfect time to start. I kept going back and forth on if we should wait until the end of July to stick to the school district calendar to be on track with our 3rd babe who will be going to pre-k. Then I decided maybe we will start next week.. you know what.. lets just do it!!
So we did it! On Wednesday, 4/24 we jumped in!
We really just dove all in, started on a Wednesday morning and decided that we would figure it out.
After a super successful and fun day 1 and day 2, we were about to start day 3 when I realized they didn’t have science work for day 4 & 5.. so hey, let’s see if they would want to double up and be caught up for the week so we could start week 2 on Monday. They both decided they wanted to be able to check off day 4 and day 5 on their list and completed their work with the best attitudes ever!
We have had the best conversations, learned things about the Bible together, and have had the opportunity the do activities with the younger kids also. This has also opened my eyes to look at all things from a learning perspective. Learning doesn’t just happen in a classroom setting or even in our house made classroom, learning happens all over. We are taking field trips, going on errands and having teaching moments, and finding all of the ways we can learn in life to show the younger two kids at the same time!
I’m not sure if we will homeschool next year, or if they will want to go back to public school, but for right now, it just feels so right!
If homeschooling has been on your heart, pray about it as a family and explore your options! I believe that every child is so different and that we have made the best choice for our family at this point!
**Edit to add- somehow I forgot to address this point. “socialization”.. my mom was worried about this and that was the first thing she brought up when I seriously mentioned homeschooling. Since we withdrew them from public school we have still met with friends at the park, they attend karate 6 days a week and attend scouts! I’m not too worried about the socialization aspect at all! But, if you are considering homeschooling and your children aren’t already involved in activities, there are many co-ops for homeschool families if you search for them! Our city is large with many opportunities, but I’m sure for smaller towns there are still many things you can get involved in!
I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me.
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Angelica
I do not know you and have never met you but joined your blog as you are a supportive and precious friend to my daughter Aarika.
Reading through your posts here should be an inspiration to all Mom’s with young children. You have found balance in everything you do and your children are lucky to have you as their Mom.
Wonderful!!!!!!! Enjoy every minute. I did.