To Homeschool Or Not, That Is The Question?

 

Don’t let schooling interfere with your education.  ~ Mark Twain

It’s Spring and you have are trying to make a decision.  Do I homeschool my children or not during the next school year? You’ve been praying and reading and talking to anyone and everyone who will listen and feel in your heart that you have a green light from God, yet…You just aren’t sure.

If this is you, you are not alone.  Every mom I know who has homeschooled has doubts; I had some major doubts.   I only committed to homeschooling my daughter for the first grading period when I began and told myself that if it didn’t work out, I’d go to my local elementary school, ask for forgiveness for my foolish decision and register her for Kindergarten. But you know what, it worked.  It wasn’t a foolish decision. I never did go to my local school and register either one of my children. And if I had to do it over again, I’d make the same decision.

So if you are questioning whether or not you should homeschool, think on these things:

1. Have I prayed about it? If not, I strongly suggest that you pray and be open to what God wants for your family.
2. Are spouse my spouse and I  in agreement?  I can guarantee you that homeschooling will not work if you and your spouse are at odds in this area.  Homeschooling is a wonderful, yet stressful endeavor.  And not being in agreement will add undue stress to your marriage.
3.  Why do I want to homeschool?  Is it because my all of my friends are homeschooling and I want to join them?  Am I afraid that my children will be influenced in a negative way?  Am I being pressured by someone?  If any of these reasons are the only reason that you are considering homeschooling, re-think it.  Pressure nor FOMO are not good reasons to homeschool.
4. Am I the type of person who can stay the course or do I tend to jump from one project to another?   There is no judgment on this one, just remember that your decision to homeschool not only affects your life, it affects your child(ren) as well.  Your commitment should be for the entire school year unless there are some unforeseeable  circumstances that prohibit you from finishing the school year (even though I didn’t commit for the whole school year).  You can always put them in school if it doesn’t work out after your one year experiment.
5. Do my children want to homeschool?  This is something to consider but is not necessarily a detriment.  Sometimes children want to homeschool because they think it will be easier(less work) or they think they can sleep in.  Other times they want to homeschool because they are genuinely unhappy with school and a traditional school is not a good fit for them. Sometimes a child doesn’t want to homeschool because they don’t like change or are afraid of the unknown.
6. Am I fearful?  In my experience, I’ve never made a good experience based solely on fear.  Being afraid of school shooters nor negative influences as your main motivation is not a good reason to homeschool.  Remember that God can and will protect your children.

I homeschooled for many reasons.  First and foremost, I got a green light from God and my husband and I were in agreement.  My husband had a job where he was transferred every couple of years and we didn’t want to interrupt my daughter’s education by moving in the middle of the school year.  My son was a baby and I wanted my kids to bond and I didn’t want to send my daughter to school.  My daughter was shy and I knew that she would be just a number.  I was concerned that she wouldn’t receive the attention that she needed. And the list goes on and on.  When I first began homeschooling, it was primarily for educational reasons, but as my kids got older developing character became equally important.

So my friend, there’s a lot to think about when you are considering  homeschooling as a family lifestyle.   Pray, discuss it with your spouse, research it, talk to current homeschoolers, and if you feel led, be brave and  go for it!

Remember Proverbs 16:9 tell us,

“You may make your plans, but God directs your actions”.

Are you going to homeschool?  Let me know, I’d love to hear your story.