To homeschool or not to homeschool? THAT is the question. Anyone who has ever considered homeschooling for a nanosecond knows that there is a lot to take into consideration. Today I'm going to kind of think out loud about homeschooling, so this blog may turn into a list, argument with myself, who knows :) But first let me just say that what we've finally decided is to send Wyatt to pre-school and then supplement with homeschooling. The primary reason is (drumroll) academics. Yes, I'm talking about academics for a 4 year old. I sat in the parent orientation and heard one of the teacher's say that they won't be teaching writing skills until halfway through the school year because most of the kids don't have the small motor skills to write. That struck me...Wyatt has been writing letters since he was 3! So here we have our first example of having to slow down curriculum to accomidate everyone. Then the next day, I went to my Mom's bible study. More than half the moms there homeschool. And some of the points they made were AMAZING. I will use some of them in my list :)
Things to consider when homeschoooling (accompanied by my thoughts on the subject)
~Most importantly, academics...See above. Some people say that they don't know how to educate children on different grade levels. It can be done, with patience, organization and time, I'm sure
~Socialization (This is a BIG one!) As one of my friends pointed out, do you send your children to school to learn, or get socialized? Yes, both are very important. But I want to be able to have some control over who my children socialize with. Often, especially in middle and high school, more time is spend "desocializing" your children when they come home. I want to control what my children are exposed to. Of course, I realize I can't do this completely, but I can to an extent, and I plan to. We have joined a homeschooling co-op, so there are still field trips and plenty of time for socialization
~But...I'm not a teacher! Well, sure you are. You just don't have a degree. Your children walked, talked, learned to feed themselves....how? There are just so many options for homeschooling curriculum now. In fact, when I interviewed a private school for Wyatt, I found that they were using a homeschooling curriculum. Well, why can't I do that?
~Time...How much time is actually spent, per day, on instruction in school? This is in no way meant to say teachers don't spend their time well...I've sat in many a classroom, and I think, for the most part, the teachers DO spent their time very well. But sometimes they have to explain something a couple of times, and time has to be spent waiting to go on until all the children are cought up. Wyatt gets bored when he has to wait. When Wyatt gets bored, he gets in trouble.
~Closeness with family...One of the things that really planted the homeschooling thing in my brain was that I noticed a lot of the teenagers in our church were very close with their families...and they weren't afraid to show it! Sons would lean on their dads during the service, and you could really see the love they all had for each other. When I commented on this to a friend of mine who attends our church, she said that most of the teenagers are homeschooled. I thought that one thing alone speaks volumes.
~Room to homeschool...I wondered, where will I ever make space, especially once we move (Which will cut our square footage in half) Well...there's the kitchen table. And why not there? We review the calendar in the morning over breakfast, and things just flow naturally after that. We don't need a special room or corner, although if you can have one, that's great too. I have a large bulletin board, that I take out and hang once the school day starts. I know a mom who covers hers up with another painting when it's not in use.
There is so much more I could write, but Wyatt wants to cuddle. My favorite thing!
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