I survived another school year.
Which is a good thing, because I had run out of school lunch combinations. (Would you like crackers or cheese with that PB&J?)
Our daughter has attended a small Christian school the last 2 years. We have loved it. Fantastic teachers, fun & educational field tri
ps, an overall well-rounded education.... What's not to love?
Well, tuition comes to mind.
Actually, we felt it was money well spent. We received an excellent return on our investment. But it became a bit of a stretch for us financially.
So a germ of an idea began to grow.....
HOMESCHOOL.
The more we thought about it (and we REALLY thought about it, because we were really looking forward to the 2nd grade teacher.), the more excited we became with the possibilities. We found that it became less about the lack of finances and more about customizing our girl's education.
As I considered it, here are the conclusions I came to:
- Ultimately, the responsibility to educate our child is up to us, the parents. As Christians, we feel this strongly and find instruction for this in the Bible. (Deuteronomy 6:6,7; Deuteronomy 11:19; Proverbs 22:6 and Ephesians 6:4) I do not feel that others cannot teach my child, but the main responsibility lies with us.
- By homeschooling, we will be able to customize our daughter's education. In a traditional classroom, students are "contained" at their grade level. I've found that students tend to be at different places in their learning journey and by homeschooling, I can meet my daughter where she is in any subject and nurture any specific interest that grows along the way.
- It will help to nurture our family as a whole. Our extended families are about 8 hours in either direction. When in school, we are locked into traveling only when school is out for holidays (if the holiday is long enough and coincides with a weekend.) This greatly limits visits with family and opportunities to travel together on personal family trips.
- We just love our girl and enjoy being with her! I realize daily that she is growing up soooo quickly and want to take advantage of every moment we can spend with her.
But that day may come.... :-D
5 comments:
Wow! This is a big step. I can't wait to hear more about your journey into homeschooling.
This is a topic I (not my husband) repeatedly visit.
My husband is very much against homeschooling for a couple reasons. (1) We, unfortunately, are surrounded by poor examples of it. (2) He worries that it would put too much pressure and stress on me. He knows me and how I dive head-first into anything and everything and he fears I would never come up to breathe.
You know the struggle we had this past year switching from private Christian to public school. We survived! It was hellish at times, but we made it through, and we are hopeful that this next year will be better.
But the question remains: is it better to supplement a public education or to run a complete education at home?
I don't know the answer to that. We're still trying to figure it out.
It's a beautiful thing! The first year is the hardest but you will do great!
I think it is great that you are doing this! I can't wait for updates on the progress and what fun things you all do!
While my husband taught at a private school we could afford to send the kids there...well, two of the four. We tired a hybrid program WAVA, or Virtual Academy, which helped keep us on track, and gave us some flexibility with lessons. Some. A little. We tried public school, which although not hellish, saw our kids falling behind. This year, we are trying a public/charter school, which gets rave reviews.
Our goal, like yours, is to give them the best we can, and the safest we can, and not just abdicate parental responsibilities to strangers. At the same time, we want peace in the home too.
But spending extra time with your kids, teaching and learning with them is not something you will ever regret.
So exciting! We are hoping to homeschool some day, but have made the decision to public school for now. Here's the post I wrote on the subject in case you are interested. Have a great summer!
Anna
http://lassothemoon.typepad.com/lasso_the_moon/2011/03/i-remember-mentioning-sometime-last-year-that-we-were-struggling-with-the-decision-of-whether-we-were-going-to-home-school-em.html
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