A while back I told you about what I was doing with Ro to help him learn his basics. I basically have done the same with Kai. She’s turning 2 on Sunday and I’m excited to help her learn through play along with Roeybear. A couple weeks ago on my Blab show, Moms & Biz, we discussed the myths and truths / pros and cons of homeschooling and unschooling. Here’s the replay if you missed it:
So I’ve weighed the pros and cons of homeschooling.
I’m considering it super strongly for many reasons including:
- firstly, nobody’s going to care more about my children’s education than me
- the schools down here suck balls (no offense, floridians. The ratings are horrible, but I’m still looking!)
- I’m concerned with the type of people my son will be around
- I’m concerned with the way black boys are treated in schools overall, and
- the fact that Ro is a super hyperactive tazmanian devil… they’re going to try and push drugs and label my boy, I can just feel it.
- I’m concerned with how he’ll behave when bored (pre-school was boring to him)
- It will allow us to be more mobile, and free.
Plus, teaching them stuff is just a lot of fun. The moment they get it, or later tell me something they learned a while back…oh it’s just the best!
The reasons I have against it are basically selfish…but still valid:
- I will not be able to build my business as efficiently because it’ll still be 24/7 kids at home
- It will be a huge time suck that I fear may consume me and my patience sucks
- I worry I won’t be an effective teacher as they get older, I barely passed chem
- I’m going to have to deal with the judgement of my family/friends
The benefits would outweigh the negatives though…..right?
I’m still looking into it…and if I find some amazing, multiculutral school that he thrives in, we may let him stay… but…
For now, our plan is to let him try out PreK (halfdays) and K (fulldays), and if it goes well let him stay and start homeschooling him at 6 or 7. And if it goes poorly, pull him and homeschool him from there on out.
Of course this plan is loose, he may beg to try traditional school when he’s older, and if he does, I’d let him…if we could find a satisfactory place.
But deeeeeep down in the core of my belly, when I push my fears of being a sucky teacher, and push all my selfishness aside… homeschooling my children just FEELS like the right thing to do for them, for me, for us at large.
Have you considered homeschooling?
I think you should do whatever you and your babies are comfortable with. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks as long as your babies are thriving. Your kids from what I’ve seen are amazing. I thought about homeschooling my kids but decided that them going to school is best mainly because we are a one car family. I don’t want them to miss the interaction they need. If I had a car I think I would’ve been able to provide that for them.
I homeschool my kids and I remember feeling many of the things you are feeling when we started out. Now 7 years later you realize that you don’t really care what your friends and family think about it, as a parent it is only your decision to make. And don’t worry about teaching the upper grades, they have lots of curriculum choices that help guide you along the way. Feel free to message me with any questions you may have about homeschooling.
Both valid points on either side. I feel like I would be totally unqualified and I would worry that I was setting my kid up not to do well. That is just me though! I SUCK at Math and science. I think I’ve probably forgotten almost everything! It sounds like you have done an excellent job teaching them so far though, and even if you home schooled now you could always send them to school later.
I have plenty of time to decide but I’m considering homeschooling. With everything going on in schools nowadays I shutter when I think about how bad it’ll be when he’s of school age. I’d love to read more about how your decision making is going.
We learn at home too. It’s been a good fit for our family. Your pros do outweigh the cons. If you feel it in your belly, just do it.
As we talked about over the weekend, we are definitely in the consideration camp. There are several co-ops in the area including groups where you go to “class” once a week and give you a lot of help and guidance. As they are young, they are more hands on. Remember, they are young and if you teach them year round (not being bound to a calendar), you can factor in business building time. You can also be a little more flexible with vacations, yet vacations can also be learning time. Oh, I can go on and on. Just call me. Love ya!
I home educated 3. One will graduate from college this year. the other two has 1 and 2 years of college left. I now work in the school system. If I had to do it over again I would definitely do the same! I think you have so many pros! And you Cons are really just mini fears that a woman like you will work around and overcome.