As kindergarten registration gets closer and closer more people are finding out that we are going to be homeschooling Maggie. I haven't really explained our reasons to many people at all. I have found that many moms start defending their reasons for sending their kids to public or private school.
I have been pretty vague to most people and just said that we had decided to homeschool Maggie and that she's eager to learn and we're up for the challenge. I don't defend our decision to homeschool her, but I do stay up late at night reading and researching and shopping for curriculum. I don't want to mess this up and I take it very seriously. Sometimes I wake up during the night and think about all of the stuff that I need to do to get us registered.
So far, I feel pretty good. I'm the one who has taught Maggie to write and now she's reading too. I didn't wait on preschool to teach her how to write or recognize letters. I haven't had to force Maggie to do anything and I have followed her lead and tried to teach her things as she became curious about them.
Maggie is also completely on board with going to school at home. She knows that she will have assignments to do every single day and she loves the idea. She will also be taking dance classes, attending choir at church, going to Awana and at sometime getting involved in a homeschool group. She'll get plenty of socialization, which I think may be the top (and worst) excuse that I've heard for not homeschooling. I think moms need to be more supportive of each other. This job isn't easy and hopefully, we all do what we think is best for us and our kids. Moms are critical about so many aspects of parenting from how you birth your baby to what/when you feed them.
I decided to go out on a limb last night and look at the private schools that I would like to send Maggie to. One of them was over $11,000 a year for kindergarten. So in a few years her tuition would go up and then Ellie would be in kindergarten and I would be missing a kidney!
"...most of them thought we
I have been pretty vague to most people and just said that we had decided to homeschool Maggie and that she's eager to learn and we're up for the challenge. I don't defend our decision to homeschool her, but I do stay up late at night reading and researching and shopping for curriculum. I don't want to mess this up and I take it very seriously. Sometimes I wake up during the night and think about all of the stuff that I need to do to get us registered.
So far, I feel pretty good. I'm the one who has taught Maggie to write and now she's reading too. I didn't wait on preschool to teach her how to write or recognize letters. I haven't had to force Maggie to do anything and I have followed her lead and tried to teach her things as she became curious about them.
Maggie is also completely on board with going to school at home. She knows that she will have assignments to do every single day and she loves the idea. She will also be taking dance classes, attending choir at church, going to Awana and at sometime getting involved in a homeschool group. She'll get plenty of socialization, which I think may be the top (and worst) excuse that I've heard for not homeschooling. I think moms need to be more supportive of each other. This job isn't easy and hopefully, we all do what we think is best for us and our kids. Moms are critical about so many aspects of parenting from how you birth your baby to what/when you feed them.
I decided to go out on a limb last night and look at the private schools that I would like to send Maggie to. One of them was over $11,000 a year for kindergarten. So in a few years her tuition would go up and then Ellie would be in kindergarten and I would be missing a kidney!
"...most of them thought we
were strange long before we announced we'd decided to homeschool the
kids".
~Mary McCarthy, homeschool mom
kids".
~Mary McCarthy, homeschool mom
4 comments:
Moms can be so critical. I never realized how bad the criticism and competition aspects of mothering were until I had Andrew. I've beaten myself up many times because of it but I'm trying to just do what I feel is best for us. I commend anybody willing to homeschool...I would love to do it but I just don't have enough confidence in myself. I also think Andrew needs a more structured setting to learn. He doesn't enjoy sitting down here at home to learn/color/do art projects because there are so many other things to do.
I think you are a very brave woman! I know that I would never be able to homeschool my boys simply because of all the distractions (for both of us) here at home!! I think homeschooling is awesome though and I loved it my last couple years of high school, I do feel like I missed out on a lot of the normal milestones of highschool, but other than that I loved it for myself. If our county schools (Reidsville City sucks) weren't so great I'd deff put the boys in private school! I can't imagine paying $11,000 a year though! I went to Level Cross for a year and it was nowhere near that, but was quality Christian education! ...and Moms are very critical of each other! I often find myself being one of the worst, but I'm working on that!
Good for you! My husband and his siblings were homeschooled (I was not). There are so many misconceptions about it. However they didn't have a whole lot of socialization. I do know that homeschooled children tend to be very, very close to their siblings and parents; it creates a beautiful family dynamic.
Can't wait to hear how she does!
Way to go for choosing to Home School!! I completed all of my schooling at home. I am so thankful for the Christian Education I received at home.
We had other Home School families in our church and area. We would get together for Holiday parties and field trips.
My parents used Abeka and A.C.E. (School of Tomorrow). Each program was very good! I graduated in 2003 from a Christian School in Oklahoma. They let me complete my schooling through them.
I have friends who use Switched on School House by Alpha and Omega. It is all on computer. It seems to be an awesome curriculum!!
Odie
www.boggsblogs.com
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