adminby Kelsey K.
Homeschooling is absolutely a very personal journey and decision for everyone. My experiences may not reflect yours, but this was our journey about how and why we got started.
A little background, my husband and I have 5 children ages 8 down to newborn, we had our 5th shortly into our homeschool journey. We are both blessed to be able to work from home for the time being.
Two different backgrounds
My husband and his siblings were homeschooled growing up. He often tells me about his experiences growing up, and made homeschooling sound pretty doable. We would have talks with his mom and how she did everything, all while holding down a full-time job. I was the type of person that thought homeschooling was very attractive, but just never had a reason to take the plunge. I also came from a family that is biased in the homeschool stereotype category: “weird, unsocialized, unqualified” were words often spoken to me when I mentioned my possible desire.
When it was time for my first child to enter preschool, I had a choice to make: continue teaching through my home, or put him in preschool. At the time, my aunt was teaching preschool, and I couldn’t compliment her methods and preschool enough. I saw the way my kids thrived through her and I knew a school environment was best for my kids. After having two kids go through preschool, and then enter Elementary School, I noticed my son “being a boy” and just wanting to play, play, play. His grades weren’t terrible, but not where his teacher expected him to be at that point. Every parent’s panic moment.
Insert COVID here.
By now, my oldest was just about to finish Kindergarten, and my second was finishing up her Kindergarten year. The beginning months of COVID school at home were hard. Our teachers didn’t have a good setup. Lessons were on Zoom. Isolation. Nothing positive was happening in the learning department at our house. Everyone was just kind of holding it together the last few months of school, just hoping to get it over with. I knew this was not an environment I wanted my kids in long-term.
My kids remained enrolled in their charter school, and it was a complete mess. Every week, we would get a new email of what to expect going forward. Which “hybrid” program we wanted to jump into. My daughter got accepted into one of the programs while my son would be on a different one. Mask or shields. Plexi-glass between the desks. School shutdowns when there were positive cases. Everything. The only thing I can remember about that first COVID summer was DRAMA. How am I supposed to help my kids process through all these unfamiliar, abnormal measures? How am I supposed to retain the last bit of normalcy I can for them as a mother?
Making the Choice to Homeschool
Well, that was the push we needed. My first thought was obligation. I needed to do this for them. Of course homeschooling for us was the answer. I would get to decide how school was done and when it’s done. My kids were going to be home with me at least half the time. It just made sense for us.
I had recently picked up a part-time job and was 8 months pregnant at the time. More family judgment. It’s hard to go against the grain. I have 5 sisters who all sent their kids back to school while I did the opposite. I don’t want to paint a picture of making this decision as some easy, perfectly-made decision. For us, it was really hard. All the feelings of inadequacy flooded my brain. How do I do all this with a part-time job as a mother of 5, including a newborn? What if I’m not enough? What if they resent having to be with mom all the time? We just kind of got to a point and said this is what we’re doing; don’t look back.
One Year Later
I know there are so many people that this situation is all too familiar for. Every parent during COVID is having to adjust their expectations for school. Just know, I was a “never homeschooler.” I loved the idea, I loved what it could do for my kids, but no, not for me. And here we are, almost a year into our first year, and it’s been nothing but positive. My son has one-on-one learning time. Our schedules are flexible. We have so much time to learn through play and exploring. They have flourished in their learning. We set our 1st grader in the same level as my 2nd grader, and they learn and progress so well together. It’s hard. But it can be done
Everyone who decides to homeschool comes to that decision differently. For us, we needed a little push, and we are so glad we took the chance when we finally did. For others, it was no-brainer that they would homeschool their children. Whatever your journey, it’s okay! This was ours.
Tell us in the comments about your decision to homeschool! Was it an easy decision for you to make? Do you have family doing it with you? We’d love to hear about your unique story!