The most common question I get right after, "are all these kids yours?" is "why do you homeschool?" I get asked that when I'm out on errands by other parents who are wondering why my kids are with me and not in school. I get asked that by friends and family. But I've noticed that the people who ask me most are the people who want to give it a shot. So here is my long overdue post about the why's and the how's of homeschooling.
I never thought I would be the homeschooling type. I have a sister with 5 kids that she homeschools, and I always thought she was crazy. But I also noted how her kids were not only smart, but they really loved learning. Still, I never thought it was a possiblity for me. Until we moved to Houston. My husband flew to Houston and had one weekend to find a house. He did great and I love our home, but the first time I drove by the elementary school that we were zoned to, I started crying. The school was so crowded that there were portable buildings all over the place to be used as classrooms. I later heard that one school near us had 13 kindergarten classes coming in the next year! That's 13 classes with around 20 students each just in kindergarten!
Now I'm in no way saying public school is bad. We are blessed that all of our children get a chance to have an education. Nor am I saying that my kids are different than all others and should get special treatment. But since I'm already a stay at home mom with lots of little ones, I thought I should look up alternatives before registering them for public school. (At this point my oldest was entering kindgergarten.) I just didn't feel right sending them off most of the day for 5 days a week to be drowned in a sea of kids. I wanted them to have a small and enjoyable classroom experience.
I sat down one night last July and started googling homeschooling and homeschooling co-ops around Katy, Texas. I was lucky to find an awesome little school called the Curious Mind School. It started out as a homeschool co-op and is now a private school. Liam went to kindergarten here and took some first grade classes as well for two days a week. We did his homework and I taught him a bit the other three days. The school changed up things for a bit for next year, however. Grades K-2 can only attend one day a week as homeschooled children due to the growth of the school and the lack of space and the desire to keep tuition down (which is all fine by me!).
I learned so much by teaching Liam just those 3 days a week last year. The experience has really prepared me to be a full time homeschool mom. I will say this. If you decided to homeschool, make sure to make time for yourself! Get babysitters during the week sometimes. Get your husband to look after the kids a couple of night a week and take a break! It's tough being with your kids all the time. I love hanging out with them and teaching them, but I also love myself and my hobbies.
So that's my story of how I ended up as a homeschooling mom. In part 2, I'll talk about my curriculum and hopefully the why part will be more understood. I hope that by showing what I teach my children, people who are thinking about homeschooling will see the great benefits that come with it.
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