Homeschooling

 

 

It seems there are some that read my blog that homeschool as well. Many times I am asked the question: “How do you homeschool while sick?” Well, the simple answer to this question is that I do what I can when I can do it and try not to worry too much about the rest.

 

I have two children, a dd (16) and ds (15). They have never been to school, not for lack of asking mind you (mostly on my dd’s part), but I’ve personally taught in the public schools in our area and quite frankly, I don’t trust my children’s education to just anyone. Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely some great teachers out there, however it has been my experience that they are few and far between. People homeschool for many reasons, some of which are cited here http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/homeschool/parentsreasons.asp . I know this is a fairly old survey, however I really don’t think too much has changed in the way of reasoning over the years.

 

Thankfully and gratefully, most of the responses I get when people find out I homeschool are positive. I genuinely enjoy being with my children. I enjoy teaching them. I enjoy watching them learn and grow. I know what is going into their minds because I have control over most of it (concerning academics that is). This is not to say that my children live in a bubble, that I only show them the “rosey” things in life. I feel that we have given them a very well-rounded education. When homeschooling (at least in our state), a person can teach whatever they want, however they want, where ever they want, use whatever materials they want, etc. Plus, the teacher-child ration is usually low, in my case it’s 1:2. And not for nothing, if we lived in an area with stellar schools, we might just consider sending them, but we don’t, so, why mess with a good thing? As far as we are concerned, why try to fix what isn’t broken?

 

How do I homeschool with my illness? Like I stated above, I do what I can, when I can and try not to worry too much about the rest. Since my children are older now, they can pretty much accomplish their work independently and I just supervise and help when needed. Since being sick, our schoolroom is now my bedroom, more specifically, my bed. We still do our math lessons here, and have for the past 3+ years. I have a beautiful schoolroom complete with computer station, white board, table and chairs, a closet full of school/craft paraphernalia and a bookshelf loaded with hundreds of books. As of late, our table has become a catch all unfortunately. Again though, as my kids are older now, they don’t require me to really “teach” them anything; I’m just sorta their guide and helper when needed.

 

It is hard at times, I will admit, when I have comfy beds, technology and TV to compete with along with not feeling up to par many a day. Although, through it all, the ups and the downs, I know my husband and I would do it all over again (perhaps changing just a few things), but all in all we are happy with our decision to homeschool. We can tell from test scores and such that our kids are right on target if not ahead. One of the best rewards was when our dd expressed that she would like to homeschool her own children one day and has even started a Pinterest board with ideas. That warms my heart so, and encourages me that I just might have done some things right by them.

 

Homeschooling is not for everyone, but it is one decision that we are truly happy we made.