Our path to homeschooling
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I never planned to homeschool. I was a licensed teacher in three states and loved teaching. I fully intended to return to the public school system once Hannah and Ben were both in school full time. The idea that Paul and I would choose something other than public school for our kids never really entered our minds. We thought we knew what path we were on.
That all changed once our daughter was actually in public school. We were excited for her to go to the same elementary school Paul went to as a kid, a school that was rated well. Her kindergarten teacher was great. Her first grade teacher wasn’t. I mistakenly assumed that all teachers put in the effort that I did teaching. It turns out that some do, but some don’t.
After many frustrating parent-teacher conferences, her teacher snidely suggested we homeschool if I didn’t like the education she was providing. Alrighty then. Let’s do this. I called Paul as I was leaving the school and we worked out a quick plan. I turned in our Notice of Intent the next day, and we began homeschooling.
Initially we thought this was just a hiccup in our plan. We would homeschool through first grade, and then Hannah could re-enter the public school with a different teacher in second grade. One more year and Ben would be in kindergarten, and then I could go back to work.
But something unexpected happened.
We loved homeschooling.
I loved teaching my daughter even more than I loved teaching a classroom full of students.
She loved having mommy as a teacher.
Time for a new plan!
Paul and I decided that we would take it year by year, and homeschool as long as it was working for us. We didn’t really know what to expect. I’m so glad we decided to jump into the world of homeschooling! We just completed our fifth year of homeschooling. It is working amazingly well for our family, and we love the flexibility it affords us.
We have the freedom to choose what and how to teach. We can take trips anytime during the year. We can go back east to visit grandparents and just bring our school books with us. It also offers my kids a class size of 2. They get all of the attention and help they need to succeed. Their education is completely personalized.
At this point, it is hard to imagine not homeschooling.