I have recently been invited to talk on a podcast about why my husband and I have decided to homeschool our children. He sent out an email prepping us for the episode, and he gave us some questions to consider as to why we chose this path. I liked the formulation of these questions, and decided, for journaling purposes, to write a blog article about these questions, and what my answers are concerning them.
#1 What was your own schooling and education like? What were the highlights? What were the challenges?
My husband was born and raised in Brazil, where he said that his education was poor. He basically learned to read and write, and basic core subjects, like math and history. There wasn't much enrichment in his formal education. But mostly, he said that he never learned good study habits, and that contributed to several years of him trying to earn his bachelor's degree, because he had to take time in his adult like to learn how to learn.
For me, I was raised in the United States, and did my public school learning in Minnesota and Arizona. I was smart, but didn't really apply myself, mostly due to undiagnosed anxiety and depression, as I sustained a loss of a loved one at a young age, and it triggered some mental health issues. Back when I was a kid, mental health awareness wasn't really a thing, so I didn't have many resources available for me (or my parents), to help me out. I struggled with my education, and I didn't have the desire to improve. I also felt like learning wasn't a priority for me, and socializing was emphasized, which was hard for me, as I felt very alone and didn't really want to make friends. So I ended up with bad grades and few friends, with mental health issues that I didn't know how to address.
#2 How and when did you decide to homeschool your children?
Our initial plan was to homeschool our children when they were of middle school age. We had done our research and at the time (13 years ago), we felt that elementary school was still a good option, and maybe high school would be okay, if we could just get the girls through the education 'slump' that is middle school. However, our plans changed when we moved to Hawaii when our oldest daughter was in preschool.
As Hawaii is very expensive, both my husband and I had to work full-time to make ends meet, and so we enrolled our daughter in public school. At first it was okay; she seemed happy. But then, we noticed that she would get very irritated with doing her homework, and would always try to distract us from getting her to do her work. When we met with her teacher, we found out that our daughter had a hard time transitioning from subject to subject, because the class had to move through several subjects a day, and just as she was grasping the taught concept, the moment would change, and she would feel forced to speed up. She is very intelligent and does not have any learning disabilities, but she just needed more one-on-one time, which just wasn't possible.
We moved to Tennessee halfway through her second grade year (during Christmas Break), and I received a spiritual prompting from the Lord to homeschool my kids. I was surprised, because I had originally planned to only do it for middle school, but as I discussed this with my husband, I was surprised to hear that he was okay with it as well, and so we began our homeschool journey.
#3 What have been some of the unexpected challenges of homeschooling that you have worked through?
The biggest challenge of homeschooling, was figuring out how it worked for our family. Our first six months were HARD. My daughter was used to rigid classroom settings, and I was under the impression that I needed to be a full-time mother AND a full-time teacher. After a couple of months of stress and conflict, I finally checked a book out of the library (I forget the title, but it had to do with something about 'An Idiot's Guide to Homeschooling'), and I read all of the different types of homeschooling. At the time, the unschooling method was something that was needed for our family, so we did that for a year, and then I found a curriculum that works best for our family. It has been smooth sailing ever since, as our expectations are more realistic.
#4 What have been some of the unexpected benefits of homeschooling that your family enjoys?
Some of the unexpected benefits are having more quantity time together as a family, my girls get along really well and are actually best friends, I love being around my kids and love spending time with them during these years where they are home. We also love that we can travel at less busy times of the year, and we enjoy less crowded museums, attractions, etc., because we go during public school schedule times. It's also easier to schedule doctor's appointments, etc., because they can be done during the weekdays.
#5 What advice do you have for the family who wants to be successful at homeschooling, but feels overwhelmed or intimidated?
I would suggest to pick a way to do homeschooling and try it out with the thought that your kid isn't going to college TOMORROW. You have time to figure it out. In my opinion, if your child can read and write, and they can learn HOW to learn, then they will be successful in life. When I think about what I learned back when I was in school and if it stuck, I am sad to say that it didn't. I don't have history dates memorized, I haven't used advanced algebra in my life experience, and now that I am in college full-time myself, I am amazed at how much I use the internet to enrich my learning, which is pretty much what we all use nowadays. If we can teach our kids how to learn and where to find reliable sources of information on all things, they will be successful learners for life.
Bonus benefits of homeschooling:
*Better sleep schedules for kids
*Healthier eating
*More time to find out what they want to learn without the restrictions of 'appropriate grade level learning'
*More family time
*Time to pursue more worthwhile activities (such as temple work during the week with my daughter)
*Cheaper travel without date restrictions
*Mama isn't a full-time chauffeur
*Can be inexpensive learning
Bonus info for Homeschooling parents:
I am the full-time homeschooling Mom, and this Mama needs ALONE time! So, I make sure that I take time for myself AT LEAST once a week! NOT running errands, because that's not fun...but I go out and see a movie, or do something relaxing like getting my hair done, or getting a massage. I even sneak out and get myself a treat, etc. This is super important and necessary for ANY parent with children...but especially necessary for homeschool parents.
Comments
Post a Comment