Now that we've officially decided to start homeschooling, several people have asked me about our decision. Here's my answer. We chose homeschooling because we don't have a Christian day school at our church. The closest one is about 10 minutes away (not super far, but figuring out dropping off/picking up with other kids could get tricky), and I'm not sure of the cost, but it would cost something.
We aren't set against public schools by any means, but the focus there is so much on getting ready for tests, and starting that so young that it just seems to me like I'd rather start teaching my kids a joy for learning right away than have it drilled into their heads that they need to learn these things to pass a test. It also allows us to include "Jesus-y" things like Bible History, hymnology, and memory work that wouldn't be in public school.
And I can do it. Several of the bloggers I follow write about homeschooling, along with other facets of life, and some of my friends homeschool. From the examples I've seen, and from what I know about myself, I can teach my kids. I know them better than anyone else knows them. I can give them semi-one-on-one time (or at least one-on-three or -four time), which is a pretty good ratio, I think.
The hard part here is that, as an introvert, I know I need a certain amount of time each day to myself. A few minutes in the afternoon for a cup of coffee and some mindless Internet scrolling do wonders for my day. That will be a challenge for me to work around.
There's also that whole "having a baby in November/December" thing. I'm hoping that by then, we'll at least kind of have a routine, and subjects at least partially prepared ahead of time, so that we can keep going without taking a break. But if we need to, one of those benefits of homeschooling is the option to choose your breaks. So maybe we'll take a big Thanksgiving break and a shorter Christmas break.
Obviously there are pros and cons to all the schooling options, but those were the big ones for us. Cost. Distance. Love of learning vs. reiterating facts.
So now I move on to planning. Planning is hard. There are so many options online, which is both good and bad, because starting out is overwhelming trying to pick things, but once I get my basics covered, I think finding supplemental stuff will be really fun. And luckily I know a few people who are farther along than I am who have been giving me great advice and guidance for figuring some things out.
From here on out, I hope to update periodically with what we're doing, and how it's going. This first year will definitely be a learning process for all of us!
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