The moment we decided to homeschool our children, we have been fielding the same questions: Why? What about socialization? How will they get a diploma? When will you put them in “real” school?
Homeschooling is not something I ever thought or intended to choose. I grew up going to public schools so naturally I always believed that’s what my kids would do. I knew some who homeschooled and to me, it was so out of the norm, I viewed it as an odd thing to do and wondered why anyone would choose that path. Imagine my surprise when we found ourselves faced with the decision of finding the right educational path for our kids. To be honest, I cried. I was once a public-school teacher and I quickly discovered that profession was not one I enjoyed. In short, I couldn’t stand teaching. So, the thought of teaching my kids wasn’t even on the table.
How did we come to the decision to homeschool? To make a long story short, it was made for us. My kids had just turned five when they started kindergarten at our local school. They were in the same class with 22 other kids. The room was full of color, bins, tables, and technology, ultimately, a little boys dream. Two days later, we were called to the school to pick up our son. We were politely told that he was a “young five and it was perfectly ok to keep him home another year.” We later realized that this was a common thing because “most boys do better when they start kindergarten at six.” It was called “a red shirt kindergarter.” I picked up my son who was full of hugs and smiles, he had no idea what was going on. As I drove home, I began to cry and pray. I simply said, “ok, God, I hear you.” I was sad that the “educators” gave up on my son, but I was glad that the decision to homeschool was made. My son spent the rest of the day enjoying being a kid while I dove into the homeschool world.
Our story is unique, and we had a harsh preconceived opinion of what it meant to homeschool. Even though we believed this was part of God’s plan, we had no idea what we were getting into and what the future for our kids looked like. We felt tossed into the deep end without a float, but we determined we would make this work, after all, it was our children’s education at stake.
Whether you have a long or short amount of time to decide, you need some guidelines to follow. Please keep in mind that I’m not an expert, I am just someone who has some experience and knowledge that I would like to pass on. The advice I have is mine, it may not be popular, but it has worked for us for many years.
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