Want to Home School But Not Sure?

The question whether or not to home educate your child may be something that has crossed your mind. It may seem daunting to you, so you don't pursue it. I can sympathize with that.

Image from
HSLDA

When I first started homeschooling, I was actually not intimidated. I had left the public school classroom and I only had one child. No sweat. I started that fall semester with these grand and lofty goals that Oldest Son would experience in his new educational environment. I had the "classroom" set up, I had organized our daily schedule, and I was pumped! Things went really well for the first six weeks. I just knew I had this home schooling thing down. I mean, after all, I was a former classroom teacher, right?

Don't you love how pride gets you every time?

Shortly after that wonderful start of our school year, we realized we were going to be adding to our family! I discovered I was pregnant with Only Daughter! Again, no sweat, I can handle this.

Oh, but then the sickness set in and it was fierce! I refuse to call it Morning Sickness because it was All Day Sickness. I had not experienced it that intensely with Oldest Son. All my grand plans for our school year were washed away by the waves of nausea.

No longer was I the organized home school mom. I was the mom who crawled to the couch and had Oldest Son bring his books to me. My great little classroom I had set up in the extra bedroom was no longer used. Maybe this wasn't going to be so easy after all. The only redeeming factor we had was that Oldest Son was an independent learner.

Finally, after several months, I was able to function a little better and had more energy. Okay, let's get back on track. We were doing so and then...Only Daughter was a preemie! Threw my organized schedule off again! Not only was she a preemie, but one with medical problems. By the time she was born, and home from her hospital stay, and I was somewhat used to everything I had to do for her, it was time to start school again. My mind was foggy...had I even finished the previous school year with Oldest Son? Only Daughter made her arrival in late May, so thankfully, I had finished things up with him to the point we could call it a year.

I share this because from that point from being sick when I was pregnant with her to just several years ago, I felt intimidated as a home schooling mom. I think if you ask most home school moms, they have experienced it at some point. Please don't let fear keep you from home schooling. Now there are so many more options out there for families who want to try home schooling. There are numerous organizations and support groups as well.

One of the reasons I felt intimidated was the fact I was trying to get Oldest Son's schooling done while having a lot of little ones around. (We had our youngest four kids in five years.) However, I wasn't aware of online school options back then. He would have enjoyed doing some of his school online. Now, there are more and more educational choices online. Numerous companies even specialized in Christian education.

But what if you don't want to sign up for a full course load? Maybe you just want help with some subjects? (while you are tending to other children)  I can offer my online teaching to supplement your home school teaching. I especially enjoy working with children in reading comprehension, grammar, writing, vocabulary, history and Bible. I hold the classes online, which helps with saving time and money. I am flexible with my schedule and really work with parents to get the sessions to be the time that works best for their family, along with mine. I can offer teaching from a Christian worldview, which is really important for many home school families.

If you are still not sure, please contact me.  tutorjuls@gmail.com

Most definitely, there are other factors to consider when deciding whether or not to home school. My goal today was to address the issue of intimidation—please don't let that hold you back if your family feels home schooling is the educational choice for them.