fbpx
Twin Cities Mom Collective

#HomeschoolLife

I was homeschooled during those dreaded middle school years. I heard they were rough. I got to completely bypass them as I was homeschooled for three years during that whole timeframe of my life. I played sports at the local middle school and I remember one day, the popular girls came up to me and said, “Hey. We heard that you called us {insert extremely inappropriate and vulgar words here.} Why did you say that about us?”

I don’t even remember what I did or said. Probably just stood there frozen because A. I definitely didn’t say anything about them to anyone and B. I didn’t even know what those vulgar words were until I looked them up in the good ol’ Webster later that evening. I was quite naïve. But after that day, and that whole weird and random drama, I knew I was dodging a bullet while being homeschooled during those years.

Fast forward to the first few years of our marriage, I was adamant that I wanted to homeschool our children, and my husband was not a huge fan of the idea. He had worked in college admissions and had encountered so many homeschool kids that were, how shall we say it, “socially awkward.” He was always worried that we would have the weird homeschool kids who were incapable of being social and functioning well in society, because that is what he was faced with when he encountered homeschool families. I assured him that our kids would not end up like that because we, as the parents, do not act like that or parent like that.

Fast forward again to the time in which our kids are reaching school-age and we must come to a decision together. At this point, my husband now works in the school system as an assistant principal and it feels quite strange to homeschool our own kids when my husband actually works in education. But we had talked and prayed and really came to a lovely compromise over the years discussing it. We said that while I am a stay-at-home mom, we will homeschool our kids and take it year by year and kid by kid. We will gauge what they need each year and what would be the best choice for each child. We have been homeschooling for five years now and it has been a wonderful journey. But we aren’t locked in with nowhere else to go.

#HomeschoolLife | Twin Cities Moms Blog

Even this year, as we discussed the possibility of our kids going to the charter school that is basically in our new backyard. I had thoughts go through my mind like, “But wait, I’m THEE homeschooling mom.” Like it was a title to hold. And what would people think if I all of a sudden stopped doing it. But truth is, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. At the end of the day, you need to do what works for your family and you need to do what is best for your child. 

We are at this beautiful place of understanding and always open to change in order to give our children the best of what they need at certain times in their lives. That might mean homeschooling all of them until college or that could mean a few of them hopping into public high school one day, or that could even mean sending one or two to the charter school across the road during their elementary years. We are open to the possibilities and not feeling the need to stay in a certain place.

#HomeschoolLife | Twin Cities Moms Blog

We love all the benefits of homeschooling, and right now, it is proving to work so well in our life. It is a huge blessing that we are grateful for each day. My number one reason for choosing homeschool in the first place is simply because I want to spend time with my kids. I want to be the one who spends the majority of time with them and be a huge part of shaping who they are and who they become. I believe our influence is based from quality AND quantity of time, and homeschooling allows me to have so much more time with them. There are some REALLY challenging days. Days that I just want to throw in the towel, but I still am pretty darn grateful that I got to spend that challenging day WITH them and grow through it. 

With homeschool, we have the flexibility to function our school day around a four-hour time frame and have the rest of the day for creative play. We get to take fieldtrips whenever we want. Family trips and adventures can happen any time of the year, not just on summers. We can stay up late and sleep in if need be (although I normally try to stick to an 8 o’clock bedtime most days.). I am able to work my businesses from home around our homeschool day. And really, I’m just able to spend so much time with my sweet little ones, and that is a gift we do not take for granted.

#HomeschoolLife | Twin Cities Moms Blog

#homeschoollife is what you make of it. It’s not for everyone and that’s okay. And although it’s been working pretty dandy for us for the past five years, I love the flexibility and openness to change. There are so many great educational options available out there and ultimately, you gotta choose for you and the needs of your family. Don’t be afraid to try new things and see what works best for your children. And don’t say, “I could never do that!” Don’t knock it till you try it- you might actually rock at it, mama! You may surprise yourself. 

Related posts

20 Books that I Read and Loved in 2023

Twin Cities Mom Collective

Food: Too Good to Waste

Twin Cities Guide to November Events

Twin Cities Mom Collective

1 comment

Jenny August 24, 2017 at 7:01 AM

Thank you for this post! You took the words right out of my head and heart. I just love spending time with my 4 and 2 year old and they are thriving spending time with us and I struggle to fathom not being the person that spends the majority of time with them and helps them learn and grow! I prepare future math teachers so it seems antithetical but I want to do it and hearing from people like you help me to see that it is okay. It is a possibility. Thank you.

Reply

Leave a Comment