Why Homeschool?

I know...why should I homeschool my kids?
Aren't I already busy enough?
Wouldn't it be great to have a break from the kids every day?
Wouldn't it be nice to leave my children's education up to someone else...so I have one less thing to be responsible about?
Isn't it great to have my children be able to learn from another adult and respect them, too?
Don't I want my kids to have a well-rounded education with emphasis in the arts, music, and physical education in addition to the essentials of literature, writing, science, history, and math?
Don't I want my kids to grow up to be free thinkers--to think for themselves and not just what the parent/teacher says?
Don't I want my kids to live outside of a bubble and learn how to stand up for themselves?

Well, yes. To all of the questions.

I respect public/private school on many levels. They can educate well, when the circumstances are right and the teachers are not just good but great.

I also know that many parents don't leave their childrens' education up to the schools...they go to Kindergarten to help the children read, they are Room Moms, they join PTAs and PTOs, they are the members of the School Boards, they help their kids with homework at home. They work a lot to provide their children a great education. So, to you who send your kids to school, I don't want you thinking that this blog is not to discredit parents who send their kids to school.

And that's what I'm doing...researching my options for the best option for me and my family. And in doing so, I have read several books about educating children--and, here is the pitfall--many of these authors don't believe in the public school system. For different reasons, hence so many books, they believe that children are best educated at home where they can receive more one-on-one instruction and instruction geared toward their personal learning style. (I'll give book reviews later.)

I fell for it. The philosophy of homeschool. And now I'm in a trap. I like public school for many reasons, yet I don't believe in it anymore.

So, here I am homeschooling. And I'll continue to let you in on this adventure of mine.

Beginning the Journey

Recently, I decided to wait to put my oldest into Kindergarten, Male with a birthday in August, until next year. This has proved to be a great decision. With that, I chose not to enroll my second, 3yo male, in a local Joy School. Instead, after lengthy discussions with my husband, we decided to give home schooling a real, legitimate try. This blog is *hopefully* going to be a journal to record my journey. It will hopefully give some direction to others who want to try homeschooling...as they follow my successes and failures.

Homeschooling is a journey---and I'm realizing a long one---and the main reason why I've resisted jumping in. Before, I just felt trapped when I thought that I would be responsible for their education...until college. I fear that all my attention will go to the progress of the older children and that the younger ones and middle ones will be left behind. I fear a lot of things. But now that I have taken the plunge, I'm a lot less scared than I thought I would be!!

So, welcome to my journey...hopefully I'll have the time to share what I learn!