When I was in high school, one of my good friends was pulled from the public school system by his parents and, for reasons unknown to me, they began to homeschool him. Up until that point, I had never heard of homeschooling, but the minute I found out that it was an option, I was intrigued.
I was only eighteen years old when I became a mother to my son. Needless to say, everyone, myself included, was a bit concerned about what kind of mother I would be. I certainly wasn’t an angel in high school, nor was I very responsible, and this mothering thing? It’s pretty darn hard. I’m quite sure that when I began talking about the possibility of homeschooling, it scared the bejeebus out of my parents and my in-laws. In fact, I heard quite a few arguments from my in-laws, but that only increased my desire to homeschool. (I’m kind of rotten that way. If you tell me not to do it, I’m gonna do it!)
When the time came for Eeyore to start kindergarten, I was working and still excited about the idea of homeschooling, but a bit frightened to try it. It wasn’t possible for me to stay home, and so he went to a public school and did really well. He made friends, learned to read, did really well in school, and had a great time.
Fast forward to October of 2006: my husband had a new job where he would need to work a lot of overtime, meaning that he wouldn’t be home to take care of the kids while I was working. I quit my job and became something I was a bit scared of being: A Stay At Home Mom.
By that time, Eeyore was in first grade and we also had a two year old daughter. I hadn’t really thought much about homeschooling, since he was doing so well in public school and really, why fix it if it isn’t broken? But then winter break came around and Eeyore was home for two full weeks and I was home with him. And I realized that I was really going to miss him when he went back to school, and it just felt wrong to send him away for most of the day while I was at home. This really got me thinking about homeschooling and all the reasons that families choose this route, and the more I researched the more I knew that this was something I really wanted to try. My husband and I thought long and hard, and came up with a plan for a trial run of the second grade. Rather than pull Eeyore from public school, we decided to let him finish out first grade and jump right into second the week that summer break started.
If you are wondering how Eeyore felt about having his summer break ripped from his sticky little hands, you need not worry. I honestly don’t believe I have ever seen a child so excited about something. As soon as we talked to him about our plans to homeschool, he began asking to do school work on the weekends even. Strange kid, I know.
We’ve been homeschooling now for two full weeks and now, instead of the Stay At Home Mom title I was so afraid of, I’m carrying around the title of Homeschooling Mom, something that is much scarier than I would have thought possible. When people find out that you stay home with your kids, the majority of them will smile and tell you how lucky you are. In the two short weeks that we’ve been homeschooling, friends have been looking at me as if I’m crazy and telling me that they could never homeschool their own children.
I’m not sure if this trial is going to turn into a full time gig or not, but I sincerely hope it does. I have learned more about my son in these last two weeks than I learned the entire year before.
Stay tuned to find out how our trial run progresses and what problems we encounter (and hopefully conquer) and also whether or not we decide to continue this homeschooling journey.
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[tags]kids, parents, home school, study, learning, education[/tags]
Photo graciously provided by foreversouls, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved
16 responses so far ↓
Carol // Jun 29, 2007 at 11:28 am
Congratulations and good luck on your homeschooling adventure!
Much More Than A Mom // Jun 29, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Have fun!
Your Mama // Jun 29, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Eeyore has the best teacher he could possibly have and I know you will conquer any problems you encounter! Your dad and I are so proud of you!
Chris H // Jun 29, 2007 at 1:05 pm
I take my hat off to you, and I hope homeschooling turns out to be everything you want. Just remember to keep his social activities up and mixing with other kids too, cos it’s important too. Nice work Karly.
Lindsey // Jun 29, 2007 at 4:58 pm
WOW. I think that is so admirable. I am anxious to hear how it goes!
shelly // Jun 29, 2007 at 6:10 pm
I like your post, and I triple-love your blog!
http://shueyfive.blogspot.com
Crystal // Jun 29, 2007 at 6:31 pm
Karly,
I admire your courage to take on such an awesome responsibility. I am sure you will all reap the benefits of your time together.
Best Wishes.
teresa // Jun 29, 2007 at 6:56 pm
I am very interested in this route myself - my daughter is only 20 months now, but I would like to learn more, and to hear how you do. Are there any resources you think particularly important to look at in researching this option?
Tammy Takahashi // Jun 30, 2007 at 3:38 pm
What a wonderful way to slide into homeschooling. I wish you all the luck and lots of happy, learning-ful memories!
Dana // Jun 30, 2007 at 9:02 pm
You are so right that there are many reasons to homeschool. And failure in public school isn’t really the best one. Enjoy the summer getting to know your child better while he gets to know you better!
Most homeschooling moms I know (myself included) felt like our real education started when we began teaching our own. You look at things differently when teaching, and you start realizing why all that stuff was important that you blew off in school the first time through!
roxy // Jul 1, 2007 at 5:36 am
I’m very interested in home schooling my daughter, too. I have to work outside the home for now, though, so I don’t know if it’s a feasible goal.
I wanted to share this blog with you- it’s PHAT Mommy, (Parenting Homeschooling And Thriving)
http://phatmommy.com/
My Minivan Is Faster Than Yours // Jul 1, 2007 at 9:30 pm
You are one bright mama to write the way you do. I’m not a bit worried about that kid of yours getting a good education. My former students on the other hand…
Leslie // Jul 2, 2007 at 11:03 am
I admire you for what you’re doing. You’ve got a great plan and I’m excited to hear how things go!
Lene // Jul 2, 2007 at 11:11 am
I’ve had many discussions with friends about homeschooling. I was a teacher before I became a SAHM and completely turned my nose up at homeschooling. But now that I am a mom, I do not think that a child has a better teacher than their parent. No one knows them better!
I will follow you in this journey. Good luck!
Rachel // Jul 6, 2007 at 9:20 am
This seems rather selfish. You said yourself you are taking him out because you are intrigued and will miss him if he is at school. Why not let him stay where he is being socialized and spend after-school with him? Your child’s education seems more like a science experiment to you then an improvement. Best of luck.
Karly // Jul 6, 2007 at 9:48 am
Rachel,
(Because you did not leave a valid email, I am responding to you here. )
Yes, a big part of the reason that I am taking him out of public school is because I miss him. Because I feel that when children are young the best place for them is with their family. We only have so much time with our kids, why not make the most of it and spend as much time together as possible? Sure, public school is fine for him, but I believe homeschool will be better. I firmly believe he will get a better education in a one on one environment with the person who knows him best as his teacher, and if that means spending more time with my child while he is young then thats a bonus!
And your right…this is a sort of science experiment. Which is exactly why we are “experimenting” over summer break rather than pull him out of public school before we know if it will work. If our experiment fails and we don’t believe he will get a good education or we feel he would be better off in public school then he will most certainly be sent to public school this fall. Do you not agree that “experimenting” over summer is probably the best way to decide if this is the best path for our family?
Karly
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