Every homeschooling parent I have come across has doubted their choice at some point in their journey. This could be something simple like one math curriculum over another, their choice of board, or something as big as homeschooling over public school. I spend the beginning of every school year meeting families new to homeschooling and each one expresses concerns of one kind or another. They are surprised that I too have doubts and worries despite 9 years of homeschooling. We find our stories for choosing homeschooling are varied but have a common thread rooted in our desire to find the best option for our children and our families. And yet we are always stewing over the choice. In hindsight I find we are braver in our language and most of us enjoy hearing those that have “successfully” come out the other side.
We’d love to hear your story and your fears. Better out than in!
Currently mine would be fitting in everything my boys want to do. None of which involves anything remotely close to ‘school work’ by most standards. As it stands right now they will make their own cotton candy in a cardboard box daily (so they can eat it), become a YouTube sensation overnight (not actually learning the audio and video editing it requires to be said sensation), build a tiny house with no building materials and, finally, require I be in 3 places at once because all their sports programs are in different parts of the city at the SAME TIME! Oh yeah, and my 10 year old is still learning to read while the 13 year old reads The Alchemist and The Giver in one day promptly announcing “he’s bored” and can I drive him to Millennium Park. Like now. My learning plan is a recipe for concern.
Now that you know what standards I’m working with tell us your doubts. Let it all out – we can take it! Because ultimately I think we are all rock stars!
A shout out to one of our sponsors!
One of Inspired’s sponsors, Brave Writer, is a seasoned voice of inspiration and recently posted a podcast on the Brave Writer blog to deal with the “what ifs”. Check out Julie’s advice to deal with what she calls the ‘It Must Be Me Despair Syndrome’.