Sitting on the Fence?

Have you been considering homeschooling for your family, but not sure if it is a right fit?  Do you have kids in public school right now that you feel could benefit from being at home, but you are not completely confident that you have what it takes to educate your kids?

I totally understand!  Even though I felt God calling us to homeschool when our kids were quite little, I was completely FREAKED OUT at the possibility of being solely responsible for their education, their social life, and essentially their future!  Did I really have what it takes to keep my kids at home?  Was I “educated” enough myself to take on this challenge?  How would it look financially for our family if I stayed at home with the kids?  Did I have enough patience to have kids under foot all of the time?

Questions literally raged through my mind constantly (and they still do, just in a different way).  I was nervous and unsure if I was making a mistake.  However, in obedience to God we decided to follow his leading and keep our kids at home.  After 6 years of homeschooling I can say without any hesitation that we have not regretted our decision in the least, and that homeschooling our kids has been a huge blessing to everyone in our family.

Here is a list of common questions that I have either been asked by others, or wrestled with myself, along with some insight as to what I have learned along the way.

1.  Do you think homeschooling is for everyone?  Or is it only for parents that have the education, time, energy and patience?  I firmly believe anyone can homeschool their children if they are willing to allow themselves to grow and become life long learners themselves.  Homeschooling parents are not all magically gifted with extra patience, nor are we all super educated people who know all of the answers to all of the subjects.  Rather, we are willing to learn alongside our kids, become involved in the learning process, and create an environment which will nurture the minds of our entire family.  Patience is a discipline that every human being – whether homeschooling or not – should not neglect.  We can all benefit from working on our patience levels, I think homeschooling parents are just forced to work on it a little quicker!
2. How are you able to afford staying at home with your kids?  This is more difficult to answer, as every family obviously has individual needs and an individual income and schedule that they are working with.  However, I know from experience, that if you are willing to make some financial changes in your life, that it is completely possible to stay at home with your kids.  It is also completely possible to continue working while you homeschool, which I have also done for years.  One of my favourite quotes regarding money is Dave Ramsey’s book – Financial Peace Revisited.  “Measure your wealth not by the things you have, but by the things for which you would not take money.”    Our best investment so far in our 15 years of marriage has been the time we have spent together as a family, and the relationships that we have made with each of our kids.  No amount of money would have me consider otherwise.  Yes we have had to juggle super obnoxious schedules (which is totally possible with the flexibility that homeschooling allows).  Yes we eat a lot of soup (which is super easy on the wallet and keeps us full and over flowing with energy).  Yes we still drive our original Dodge Caravan (which has taken us on so many adventures that I will have a hard time parting with it when it is time to say goodbye).  And yes we have had to make financial choices that support our decision to homeschool, but it is all completely worth it and totally possible if you are willing to get creative!
3. Do you need a degree to homeschool?  Absolutely not!  (Although no shame if you do).  The books, curriculum and media that is so easily available at our disposal can take your kids far beyond any education that they would receive in public school, if you are willing to seek it out and learn with your kids.  In school you have a minimum of 25 kids to 1 teacher.  (I give teachers SO much credit for what they do every day).  However, no teacher can possibly have the one on one time that a homeschooling parent can.  It is just not possible, no matter how much they pour into their students lives and the material which they are required to teach.  At home, you can follow the interests of your kids.  You can use amazing tailored curriculum for reading, writing, math, history, science, geography and so much more that is not commonly used in a school setting.  You can let your kids sink deep into books that give them a love for history or have them pour over science books that keep your kitchen a never ending mess of learning.  You can allow your kids to follow their own passions considering the extra time you have at home. As a parent, you get to be part of that journey which means you get to learn so many new things right alongside them.  Subjects like math and history have completely come alive for me more than they ever did in school.  Rather than learning and memorizing a bunch of facts, we are actually engaging in meaningful lessons that become part of our daily family life and conversations.  And if for any reason you are feeling like you are still not confident to teach specific areas, you can always find online courses, graded DVD’s with actual instructors, or assistance from your local school division.  I know in our area, we are totally blessed to have an amazing liaison that acts as a mediator between the school board and the homeschooled families.  Anytime we have questions or need advice, she is always willing to lend a hand.
4. Don’t you get sick of your kids?  Yup!  I do!  I have many days and moments where I imagine myself crawling up into the refrigerator and hiding out for the rest of the day. (It would be cold, dark, quiet, and even provide some snacks that I could eat in private).  It is for these reasons that I am thankful for good homeschooling friends, the outdoors, video games when the weather is bad, or a bedroom I can disappear in.  I have implemented a few things in our routine as well like quiet time, mini retreats, and sibling time which has also helped keep my sanity in check!  And as much as I long for some lengthy time alone, I would not trade that for the relationship our family shares, our the one-on-one conversations and the enjoyment that we have when we are together.  We really do enjoy spending time together as a family.
5. What about their social life?  You can not homeschool your kids without this question coming up in many different forms over and over again.  You can find so many blog posts and write ups on this topic that it becomes probably the most repeated question of all.  Yes, our kids are not spending their time in a classroom with 25 kids that are all the same age for hours and hours of their day.  But lets honestly ask ourselves if that environment is actually the best scenario for our kids?  Other than school, can you think of any other environment where we are categorized into groups that are based solely on our birthday year and month?  No!  We are grouped together by our interests, our work or our employment, our desire to serve in our communities and other varying factors.  When you choose to actively seek out community for your homeschool, you are better equipped to handle ‘real life’ scenarios.  If you have ever attended a homeschool coop or picnic, you will see how these kids are able to play games and problem solve together regardless of the age of the kids in the group.  They respect the adults and are able to include kids of all ages. Because homeschool children spend so much of their day in the presents of other adults, they are generally very respectful and interested in learning from people of all ages.    One of my all time favourite parenting books is called “Hold On to Your Kids” by Gordon Neufeld.  He talks of the importance of parents influence more than peers in the development of our kids.  Yes, as a homeschooling family you need to ensure you are putting in perimeters to give your kids the tools they need to actively engage with the community.  However, with the flexibility and extra time that you have when you homeschool, it becomes very easy to give your kids a social life that exceeds the social limitations that a public school setting provides.

If you are sitting on the fence and trying to decide if homeschooling is a good fit for your family, I would suggest that you at least give it a try for a year.  Seek out other homeschool families for advice, join one of the many homeschooling groups on Facebook, pour over Pinterest articles and blogs for motivation and advice, and allow yourself room to grow and adapt.  If you would look back to the beginning of our homeschooling journey and compare it to how homeschooling looks now for our family, you would see a complete transformation.  Our schedule, homeschool ‘style’ and curriculum choices have all had to change over the years and that is okay.  That is the beautiful part of homeschooling; you are not stuck.

If you have any questions or advice, I would love to hear from you!  What is holding you back?