Finding the Greener Grass for Your Family

You may be finding yourself asking the homeschooling question that never even occured to you before this moment. Covid-19 and the shutdown brought about a new adventure for families. Their kids started learning at home out of requirement and they found themselves asking the question if they should continue to homeschool once the new school year began. Interestingly, more and more families are asking the question as the years continue to pass on and the school system (private or public) doesn't seem to be as fulfilling as they had hoped.

Homeschooling is a big choice for anyone. Aside from actual sugar cookies and those neighborhoods, nothing in life is ever cookie cutter, education included. So many things weigh in on a daily basis when it comes to educating your child: time, availability, space, cost, learning styles, unique abilities, temperaments, personalities, and even health. Some families find that homeschooling is the only route they’d ever go and others discover that they are unable to travel down that path at all. Many families fall somewhere in between. They enjoy homeschooling, but if needs be, they would be content considering another alternative.

Many parents fear that they will not be able to take on teaching responsibilites. I can honestly say that over the past 15 years evaluating homeschooling families, I have only come across two families that were not providing the best education for their children. Most parents go above and beyond what their children would be taught in a school setting, let alone what it required as a homeschooler. Some families downright impress me with what their children have learned from year to year, and I thoroughly enjoy seeing children’s faces light up when they show me projects that they are proud of completing. There our so many avenues for teaching nowadays. If you have a desire to learn along with your children, you will be just fine in the homeschooling world.

My family actually goes through the action of “deciding” to homeschool once a year, sometimes once a semester. My husband and I create an initial pros and cons list for each option (homeschooling or brick and mortar), then have the child in question (or all of them) add on other pros and cons. So far, we’ve homeschooled the entire way with four kids- graduating the oldest this year! It’s just what has worked for us.

Homeschooling is possible for most families, but it may not be probable. It really is up to each individual to determine which grass is greener at this time.

Questions to consider when deciding if homeschooling is right for your family or not:

1. Why are we considering homeschooling?

2. Do I respect and honor my child? Does my child respect and honor me? Do I have an idea how we will work toward respect and honor if I answered no to either of these previous questions?

3. Do I have time available during my day to teach, or at least, guide/coach my child?

4. Am I willing to search for new avenues if a certain way of teaching/learning doesn’t seem to be working for my child?

5. Am I willing to ask questions or seek help from others in order to create a great homeschooling experience?

You seasoned homeschooling families out there, feel free to add any other questions that you asked at the beginning in the comments below.