Our school district has an alternative school that we (my husband is coming too) are touring today. Basically we would homeschool and also be able to take elective classes like piano, theater, German, or guitar at the school. The school also provides a computer lab and other resources to help homeschoolers be successful. I really wouldn't be doing this on my own.
Here is my list of pros and cons I've come up with.
Pros:
- More time to be a kid. Elementary school goes from 9:20 until 3:50. That's a long day. When you come home, do homework, and eat dinner it doesn't leave much time for playing, being with the family, or extra curricular activities like music lessons. This is a big one for me. I believe there is a lot more to life than going to school to get "a good job."
- You can learn at your own pace. She knows what "5" of something is so we can move on instead of rehashing it for months.
- There are no peanuts. I carry an epi pen for my youngest who is allergic to them. This is a bonus, not an actual reason to homeschool for me.
- I can at least minimize their exposure to cultural values we don't agree with.
- More time as a family.
Cons:
- I won't have as much free time with kids home all day. I'd love to start running again, put more time into my etsy shop, and keep the house a bit (a lot?) cleaner.
- Fear of failure. Can I really do this? Will she listen to me as a teacher?
- While I don't think homeschoolers are as socially isolated as they used to be, there can't be the same level of social interaction as you get in public school.
- My husband is currently not in support of homeschool.
I hope the tour today can help me make a decision. Ultimately I can't do this without my husband's support. I believe homeschooling would be the best option for my children, but not the best option for me. I'm worried that it would be a selfish choice for me to not homeschool but I have a history of not doing enough for me.
Have a great day!
Maria
I homeschool my children as I feel it is the absolute best for them...but some days are challenging.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, the social aspect is a biggie with many people but I know a lot of children are in public school that I dont' want my children to behave like/socialize with.
Definitely honor your husband but know that homeschooling, as difficult as it can be at times, is rewarding and worth not missing your kids! :)
First I am not a mother, so take what I say with a grain of salt.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid my mom stayed home with me and ran a daycare until I started kindergarten. It was so much fun my friends came over every day. We went bowling once a week, swimming once a week, to a preschool once a week, and on another special outing once a week. We learned all of our basic pre-kindergarten skills. It was great, I feel like it really gave me a good solid start.
After that I always went to public school in various places, we moved a lot because my parents were in college. My mom taught me that all experiences were good even if they seemed difficult at the time.
Going to public school gave many experiences, working with many different types of people, with opinions different from my own (and from my family's). I feel like going to public school helped me to be more opened minded towards people different from myself.
It seems that many of the world's problems exist because people do not want to accept those different from themselves. Many think everyone should have similar views as themselves, and that is just not true. We all have different nervous systems, and process things differently, and that is ok. The earlier someone figures this out the better.
Because I had a good solid foundation and knew what my parents expected of me I was able to make good choices yet be exposed to things my parents could never have offered me.
The more varied experiences a person has, and the more different opinions one hears the better.
On average kids go to school 180 days per year. That leaves more than half the year for family time, and for kids to be kids.
When I was a kid I was always "ahead of the curve." This taught me how to teach others, which improved my own skills greatly. It also taught me to be understanding of those who did not have the same skills as I did. It also taught me to be patient, what I priceless skill for all children/adults to have.
As far as the epi-pen and peanut allergy goes, I would personally be terrified to send my little girl to school. I don't know if I could do it. I hope I never have to make that decision.
Homeschooling is such a personal choice for each family but I know that I alone (with my husband) could never give a child all the experiences he/she needed to be a well-rounded understanding person, and isn't that the most important thing in the end?
I hope my comments were not offensive to anyone, if so I am truly sorry. That fact that you are even posing these questions, or having these conversations means that you are a wonderful parent!
Also sorry for any spelling/grammar errors, darn public schools did not teach me that well, lol:)
Genevieve - Thank you for the thoughtful reply! I definitely want my girls to be accepting of people different from themselves. I agree that this is an important skill and it's one we've been talking about lately.
Delete"On average kids go to school 180 days per year. That leaves more than half the year for family time, and for kids to be kids." I've never thought of it this way but you are right. They are only in school for about half the year. This gives me something to think about. Thank you!