Homeschooling the Herd

I could “never” homeschool, I don’t want weird kids and I have no patience….

I remember thinking I could “never” homeschool my kids. “I don’t know enough, I don’t have the patience to be a teacher, PLUS I don’t want my children to be weird”. As I sit here typing this I’ve officially been homeschooling for seventeen years. Seventeen years is a long time; although, it honestly doesn’t feel like it’s been that long at all. And after all this time I’m only just now starting to feel like I might have this thing figured out. (I know all of you new homeschool moms out there don’t wanna hear that….but it’s true).

We made the decision to homeschool when our oldest daughter was in fifth grade. At that time her younger sister Allison was in preschool and our son Carson was 5 months old. Halee (our oldest) was a bit advanced and we couldn’t find a school that would really challenge her. First she attended public school, then we tried two different charter schools, all of which we felt were not “good enough” for her. Now, I have to say, the way I feel about education today is TOTALLY different from when we first started. I was all about Halee getting straight A’s and ALWAYS trying her best. I can remember when she was attending charter school, she’d get her spelling words on Friday for the next weeks test. She would have a pre-test on Monday, if she aced the pre-test she wouldn’t have to take the actual spelling test later in the week. I knew (if Halee tried) she could ALWAYS get an A on the pre-test. So I expected her to work hard over the weekend to make sure she would ace it. As a result, I don’t think she ever ended up taking an actual spelling test that year. Yep, I was one of THOSE mothers.

It’s funny how much I’ve changed. Almost a full 180 in my thoughts and understanding of how children learn. I’ll be sharing lots more in future posts…so stay tuned. Homeschooling has taught me a lot!! As we added to the family over the years (we have eight kids total…4 girls, 4 boys), each child has taught me so much about myself and my children. So, are my children weird because of homeschooling? …Maybe, but that would be only because they are their own unique selves. So yes, if you compare them to other children of their own age, they may seem a bit weird. Has homeschooling helped me grow virtuous patience? …Um, nope, but I have learned to be more understanding and knowledgeable of what my expectation should be for my children. So I’m still a very impatient person (my kids and husband can attest to that), but I’m LOTS more understanding.

So, If you’re contemplating homeschooling but you’re just not sure. Let me be the first one to say JUST DO IT! you will not regret it (well some days you might …but that’s only temporary and I’m here to cheer you on and tell you….you got this!!!) My plan with this blog is to share with you our daily ups and downs and also some things that’ve helped us with homeschooling over the years. Remember “never say never”, because it just might happen!

Until next time…

Blessings from the Herd!

Cheri