Considering Homeschooling
Photo by Jude Doyland
I’ve recently been reconsidering homeschool as an option for my family. The spouse-unit and I have always been open to the idea, and felt it was best decided by the temperament of our children.
We’ve always been fans of Waldorf education, and have always planned to send our kids to a Waldorf school. Recently, we were figuring out when Spice would go to preschool or kindergarden, prices, etc. and were flabbergasted to see that the starting price for 3 days per week of nursery school at our local Waldorf school was about $9K/year! We knew a full K-12 Waldorf would average out to about $12K/year, but I didn’t realize the prices would run so high before first grade. 
Photo by wmshc_kiwi
So *I’ve started to reconsider homeschooling*, in spite of my fears that I wouldn’t be a good teacher, would burn-out being around the kids all the time for the next 15 years, etc. It’s just hard to ignore all the benefits, not to mention what we could teach our children on our own with all that cashola!
Here are the potential advantages for us:
- Travel flexibility: We already travel a LOT, so having the option to travel outside of traditional school vacation times would be great.
- Richness of curriculum: I love the idea of kids learning hands-on, or from real experience. Studying tropical fish and corals by snorkeling? Visiting historical civil war monuments for U.S. history lessons? You just can’t get that experience in a traditional classroom.
- Peers / influences: We’re picky about what we expose our children to, and when. One of the reasons I refuse to put Spice in daycare that I don’t like her being exposed to toddler television icons, cookies in lunchboxes, etc. Ideally, I’d like more control over this during my kids’ schooling years than traditional school would offer.
- Spend more time with our children: We all hear it – “they grow up so fast”. Why not get more of that time in while they’re young?
Potential challenges for us:
- Socialization: Yes, it’s the red herring of homeschooling, but it’s still something that I don’t know enough about and therefore, am still worried about.
I know there are support groups, co-op classes and other ways to get the social experience in, but I need to find more of these in our local area. - My sanity at home w/ kids 24-7: I worry a little about my own need for space and time-off. If the kids are with me five days a week plus weekends, when would I get time off for myself? Would it drive me crazy? How do other homeschooling moms manage this?
So, there you have it. My recent dilemma. Do you homeschool, or have you considered it? If you’re a homeschooling mama, when/how do you get your own space? I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!!
I’ve been considering homeschooling too but haven’t yet been able to persuade my husband. I agree with all the potential advantages you list. I would also add that your children would benefit from the advantage of having their teacher available for them one-to-one. When you can stop and listen to your child and really hear what their question is, you are in a much better position to lead on their learning. A schoolteacher, with a classroom full of children, will never be able to offer that level of support for their learning.
I think you have to consider socialization as part of your curriculum when you are homeschooling. You simply have to make sure that it is included in your schedule. It does require effort, but your child will have more natural friendships when they are exposed to children of a variety of ages as well as adults.
And as for kids driving you crazy – I don’t think there’s an easy way around that. If you have family or friends around locally you could include them. I know of one family who sends their son to his grandfather once a week to study history. Another option is to get together with other homeschoolers. You might be able to arrange to share responsibilities for the kids. Perhaps you could look after their kids for a couple of hours while they take a break and then they can return the favor.
I’d love to homeschool and will continue to work on my husband. In the meantime, I hope you are able to come to a decision that will work for you. Do keep us posted…
Ann Hall
August 17, 2010 at 6:00 am
I am a home school mom and love it! I’m actually getting ready to start a series of posts on my blog answering questions like yours about home school. I’d love to have you come over and check it out.
In the mean time. The short version answer to your question about finding space for yourself: I find it the same way I did before my children were school age. Get up a little earlier or stay up a little later than your kids, institute an afternoon quiet time, sign up for classes outside the home, or trade kids with a neighbor or friend occasionally.
Jennifer Lavender
August 17, 2010 at 2:31 pm
Go for it. One year at a time, it’s not a decision that’s carved in stone. Best to try to find some local families and see what if anything is going on nearby.
liveotherwise
August 17, 2010 at 3:56 pm
Go for it.
It is a fantastic way of life for all concerned in our family.
As to the potential challenges:
There are two aspects to socialising:
Socialisation – learning social skills can be greatly helped by home schooling/education. Because families and grouups are mixed age children get to learn from and to be helped by adults and older children.
Socialising – your actual friends is different thing. The number of groups and the type of activities you do is very much up to you and your children.
Home schooled/edded children often have friends who go to school who they see after school, weekends and during the holidays. This is a great way to built up local friends and local afterschool activities are a great way of doing this, or ask parents in your street if they are interested in a playdate.
Not every child needs or wants lots of children around all the time. Many find that they particularly enjoy spending time with adults including their parents or that the most imporant people to spend time playing with are their brothers or sisters. Just because this isn’t the situation in school doesn’t mean that it isn’t normal and beneficial to spend plenty of time together as a family, or developing realtionships with other adults outside the family.
Finding home edded friends can be an issue and it can take a while trying different groups, travelling a bit etc to find the friends that work for your children (and you). But a bit of perseverance usually pays off.
My sanity at home w/ kids 24-7:
As Jennifer says it is no different to preschool. Many parents find that removing the stress of school deadlines, tired children after school, the gradual distancing of children as they turn to their school peer group etc makes for less stressful relationships anyway.
Everyone feels overwhelmed at times – where ever their children are educated.
Also the time at home is not intensive – sometimes the chidlren need your attention and sometimes they don’t.
Make as much use of partners, relatives, friends etc as possible.
A little creative thinking can go along way. My time is on the computer in the morning – the girls just sleep longer. Previously my time has been in bed (with the girls) listening to relaxation music. You will find that each of you needs time to themselves – a useful trick is to be flexible, taking yours when the children have wandered off to play together or do something quiet.
Katherine
August 18, 2010 at 12:24 am
We dabbled with some home (pre)schooling and had planned to do it throughout for the kids until we found a school that we thought would be even better.
We considered the “socialization” aspect and that’s what prompted me to share. There are two ideas struggling under one concept in that and they need to be addressed individually. One is that your kids will want and need a social existence. Life is a lot cooler with friends. Any system of home-schooling has to allow for that. Fortunately, it isn’t generally too tough with extracurricular activities, sports, kids of friends, neighbors, etc. It’s important not to neglect it, but it isn’t that hard.
The other notion is more “socializing” them to a group environment. In this area, you’ll hear people talking about things like learning cooperation, functioning as a team, etc. I agree that this is a total red herring. The place where kids learn that is from adults who know how to do those things. It doesn’t emerge magically out of immersion with a bunch of kids who also don’t know how to do those things. That idea is no more sensible in my mind than the thought that the way to teach kids etiquette is by immersion with young children who also don’t know it.
The second idea is sometimes extended to mean something like “learning to cope with mind-numbing misery and forced capitulation with senseless rules” that can occur in school but that is unlikely to occur in the home. Because of how patently abusive that sounds, it is usually couched more like, “dealing with the real world” or some such. By my way of thinking, avoiding this is one of the best possible consequences of home-schooling. I view our job as parents essentially as to prepare the kids to pursue their values and to demonstrate to them that the world is a benevolent place where accomplishing your values is possible. The “coping with the real world” crowd are operating from exactly the opposite principle of viewing the DMV as the “real world” and being worried that home-schooled children may get the “wrong” impression that the world is full of wonder, joy and possibility.
Jeff Yoak
August 19, 2010 at 1:27 pm