Home Schooling

I won't lie to you- home schooling can be difficult. But the result is so worth the effort. Many children struggle in school, and many parents struggle with what to do about it. One alternative is to home school your child. Home schooling allows your child to learn at his or her own pace. You can use traditional school grades as a guide, but if your child is really struggling, slow down a bit. By the same token, if he's getting all the subject matter with little or no effort, bump him up a notch.

When you home school, your child's education rests on your shoulders. That in itself is incredibly overwhelming at times. I home school my two boys- 8th grade and kindergarten- and I don't even have a college degree! So what makes me so qualified? I love my boys. I have their best interests in mind at all times. I don't have to worry about any other kids- only my two.

As a home school teacher, I have sacrificed a lot. Mostly a social life. My kids are with me most all of the time. And, let me tell you, I am not one of those people who just loves to be with her kids all the time. No- I say too much of a good thing is not always good. So I have to make a little more of an effort to get out a bit. I've just started back to work- evenings- and it kind of feels like my quiet time. I'm loving it.

Another thing that I've given up is my dining room. Now, this may sound strange, but that's where we have school. I know you're supposed to have a dedicated space for school, but until I hit the jackpot and can afford a bigger house, the dining room it is. I think I am borderline OCD sometimes. Things should just be put in their proper place so you can find them later. This reeks havoc on me and my dining room sometimes!

But there are tons of benefits to home schooling. You can set your own hours. We decided we wanted to take every Friday off. So we have school from Monday to Thursday. As long as we still get our work done and a minimum number of school days in- we shoot for 140 days per year-it works great. My boys always have a long week end to look forward to. If we have something else to do, we cancel school for the day. We can always make it up on Friday! If we want to go on vacation we just take our books with us. We have shorter lessons on vacation, but it's still more fun to do math In Orlando from the balcony of the condo overlooking the pool!

Since we home school, we almost never have homework. My boys have friend who spend hours every night doing homework! That cuts into family time a little too much for me. That, in fact, is the very reason I pulled my oldest some out of traditional school after the fifth grade- too much homework. I was already spending two to four hours a night helping him, why not just do all the teaching? Now we have more time to do other things.

One of the biggest arguments I hear against home schooling is the socialization issue. Well, let me tell you, it's a crock. My boys have lots of friends. Good friends that I know well and I know their parents. I know who my kids are hanging out and what they do all day. I know when they're upset. I get to see the joy (and relief) on their faces when they do a great job.

With my little guy, I get to help him learn to read. He will be five in a few weeks and is just starting the first grade Hooked on Phonics reading program. Just because he can. Some of his friends that are a year older are learning their colors and letters and letter sounds. Fine for them, but I can do better for my kid.

One of the most important things I try to teach my boys is that they don't have to know all the answers- just how to find them. In traditional schools, they were taught to memorize subject matter to pass a test. Now, I try to make sure they "get" it. Some things we go over very fast, other things we take our time on. It all depends on where he is at that moment.

Home schooling is a drastic choice. It's all or nothing on some days. But it's wonderful and rewarding and terrifying and trying. But it's always for the best interest of MY child.