Michelle and I are coming up on our 6th year of homeschooling our children and we couldn’t be happier with our decision. It may have its ups and downs, good days and bad days but without a doubt we know we’ve made the right choice. And the transition to living on the road has been much easier and much more fulfilling than we could have ever imagined. Having our kids experience in person the things that they would have only read about in books is a truly rewarding opportunity.
We only get so much time with our kids before they grow up, leave the house and start a life of their own and we really didn’t want to miss it. Now I realize educating your children at home isn’t for everyone. For some, they may like to but can’t because they need two incomes or one parent isn’t on board. Or maybe the fear of taking on that responsibility is too overwhelming. I would imagine there are a lot of people that fall into this group but it’s never too late to take charge of your life and live it the way you want to live it. It will take planning and living intentionally, but remember; you only get one shot.
Michelle and I were lucky. After many discussions, we were both on board with this decision. We lived simple enough wherein we weren’t dependent on two full time incomes and as for the fear aspect…yeah, we had our fears going into it, but I’ll tell you, over time that fear turns into confidence and that confidence leads to a successful homeschool life.
Now, in these times, parents are essentially being forced to take on this task. To that I will say “don’t sell yourself short, you can do this.” It’s like starting a new job. At first you’re a little nervous and you’re getting to know how things work. After a while it becomes routine, and as mentioned, you have good days and bad days then after a while you shake off the newbie nerves and before you know it you’re giving advice to the new parent that’s joined the crew. It will take restructuring, re-evaluating and a whole lot of patience, but just remember not too long ago all school was homeschool. Now we just have every piece of knowledge that you could imagine at our fingertips. Pretty good deal I’d say.
Whatever you may be experiencing or feeling about your decision to educate your child, whether its public school, private school or homeschool, just remember that there is no one else in the world that takes your child’s best interest as serious as you do.
I once read a quote that said: You will never look back on life and think, “I spent too much time with my kids.” It’s true. Life goes by fast folks, better make it count.