Homeschool? | Imamother

amother

Green

Thu, May 23 2024, 7:04 pm

The best of both worlds is if you live in a community with lots of other homeschoolers and you can create homeschool co-ops.
We homeschooled our kids for one year and then are still semi-homeschooling for now our 3rd (and probably last) year. I see many pros to homeschooling. However, it is definitely not for every family, and not for most families either. Some challenges:
Multiple kids- I only homeschooled a maximum of 2 children at a time while also having a baby at home. It is really hard to juggle more than 1 student. I admire and hold in awe moms who homeschool 4,5, 8 kids at a time. I literally don't know how they do it.
Personality of the kids/parents- some kids thrive in an all-day social scene. Some do not. Some parents crave their me-time and cannot handle being with their kids all day long every day. Some are perfectly content with all-day bonding with their kids. Also, some kids are more compliant with parental instruction than others. If every day is a fight to get her to do five math problems, then maybe it's not working.
Finances- some families, even without tuition costs, still can't make it without 2 incomes. I do know some moms who work from home while homeschooling, but I don't see how that's a fair set up unless mom's schedule is super part time.
Adequacy of teaching- Many parents protest that they're not qualified to teach. For high school subjects, I can maybe understand that. However, I disagree when it comes to elementary school. If you were a decent student yourself, then you are fully qualified to teach elementary school one on one to your child. It's also okay to learn things together with your child. You don't need to know everything. Part of the beauty of homeschooling is it teaches a child that learning is a natural part of daily life for everyone; it's not something just relegated to a school environment. Children are naturally curious and it's so beautiful to tap into that. For older students, there are so many options for subjects you don't feel comfortable teaching; whether it's taking a online class or hiring a private tutor or forming a co-op, there are options.

So these are all things to consider. But for those who are serious about it, it can be done beautifully.
But I would never recommend homeschooling with the sole purpose of avoiding tuition. If that's your only reason, you'll get burned out real fast.