I know you've been thinking, "Where's Rae? How come she hasn't posted yet? What has she been doing today?" (Because I know how you all keep tabs on my every more and check my blog every waking moment!) Today, I had the pleasure of packing up the kiddo's and driving to the other part of the state to meet up with a girlfriend from high school. She is a homeschooling mom and invited me to check out her support group. Now I know you're thinking, "Why is Rae checking out homeschooling support groups?" For the past two years I have been climbing the homeschooling cliff and as of this week I am peering over the edge trying to decide if I should take the jump. I have always said the girls will never attend Junior High in a public school setting but as of late I have had a strong feeling that I am to start homeschooling NOW! Well, not now but in the fall. For those of you who know me well are probably shaking you head and thinking, "Rae?! No way! She loves her freedom when the kids are in school! She loves to go out for lunch with friends!! She loves to go shopping!!! What is she thinking?!" I truly do not know what I'm thinking except that I am feeling led in this direction. So, I'll keep peering over the edge and we will see if I jump and end up landing on my feet or scurry back down the cliff shaking with fear and trepidation!
5 tweets and twitters:
As a matter of fact I WAS wondering what the deal was - am I devoted or is my life just sad.........I'll go with devoted!! :-)
PN
PN you aren't the only "devotee". All day I've been saying, where is she? No cooking blog? No regular blog?
Rae, glad to hear you are well. Good luck with your homeschooling decision. Whatever you choose I know it's because you are looking out for your sweet children. You are a wise and great mother. Missing you.
I actually assumed that it was MY doing that caused the lack of blogging . . . I asked myself, "Could the garage door have anything to do with this??!!"
Anyway, I love your new artwork on the blog, as well as your brave venture into schooling your gorgeous kids at home.
The only disadvantage I see to this new adventure would be that EVERYONE with kids the same age as yours will want to send them to your house instead of to public school in the fall. You better keep it on the down low!
Steve is bringing by a little something tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully you guys will be home. I'm scared of your driveway now, so I'm sending the husband :).
I have found that one of the perks of homeschooling is that time is actually freed up in the afternoons and evenings in a way it wouldn't be if I did public school.
For example, I have a consulting business on Thursday evenings from 5pm-9pm. I'll also occasionally do a session or two on Tuesday evenings or Saturdays.
With homeschool, you get to spend such delicious quality time with your children during the day, that you feel justified spending a little time away from them for an evening class, a job, or some other enriching activity. I would never choose do my work if I did public school, because my time with my children would be so limited that I would want to spend every moment with them after school.
This brings up another point. Homeschooling allows you to participate in extracurricular activities during the school hours that normally couldn't be done until after school. We do piano, gymnastics, swimming, and art school during the school day. This is possible because you can get through SO much more material one-on-one, or even one-on-two or three, that time is freed up that would otherwise in the public school be used for group discipline, group teaching, waiting in lines etc.
There will always be after school activities,like church and soccer and dance, but our evenings are much more free than the norm, and my children still get all the classes they want and more.
Which doesn't mean to say that public school doesn't have many merits. It's just important to remember that if you choose to homeschooling you can have time to yourself, but it will just be structured differently. For example, between the times of 2:30-5pm, for example, the girls could be busy doing quiet activities while you do your stuff around the house. I have my girls doing handicrafts, listening to classical stories on tape, writing in their journals, finishing up projects that don't require my help, preparing dinner, working on their Activity Day stuff, gardening, doing science experiments, memorizing poetry, reading. Anything that they can do on their own. They know that it's more child directed time after they've done their focused studies.
The time you can spend with your children is priceless. I can't tell you how many times I'm teaching my girls and thinking how GRATEFUL I get to spend this very fleeting time with them.
I will say that for me, choosing to homeschool was the most frightening decision I've ever had to make as a parent. I was so afraid of making the wrong decision and I agonized over it until I got my answer.
Even so, it was a giant leap of faith. I just had to give it a try, and I decided to not make some long range plan but just take it a half a year at a time knowing I could always put them into school if I decided homeschooling wasn't working. As it turns out, we all still love it. Love it more as the years go by and I don't regret an instant of it, especially now that the girls are getting older.
Much success in making your choice. I'm sure you'll make the right one for your family. I love you.
While you're peering over the cliff, a book that you might want to check (which I am very interested in as well) is "The Well-Adjusted Child: The Social Benefits of Homeschooling" by Rachel Gathercole. It's a book that came out last year and we got recently at the library. Socialization has been my biggest concern with homeschooling but I know that your kids definitely have plenty of socialization in all of their extra-curricular activities, but it just might be something to help which direction you take. Whichever way you go will be the best for you and your kids, I'm sure!
Post a Comment