Me? Homeschool?

I have always been told to "write what you know". One thing I know is homeschooling.   I thought I would start blogging a bit about it. I certainly don't consider myself an expert but have done it now for 11 years and my children are still alive and I still have most of my hair so figured I may have something to offer. The attached picture shows how I feel much of the time.

In this post, I will just give a little background as to why we started homeschooling.   My husband and I have seven kids between the two of us: his, hers, and ours.  We call it the beauty of the blended family.  I felt that we were raising two separate families as there was an age span of fifteen years between our oldest and our youngest.

I had never thought of homeschooling before I met my husband.  He knew one family in our hometown who lived that adventure and it really made an impact on him. He had mentioned it several times and I kept giving him the excuse that everybody uses with me now, "I would never have the patience to do that!"

My turning point was when our oldest graduated from high school. I couldn't believe how fast time had flown and I was determined to go to all lengths to make it slow down. Surely homeschooling was the answer for that. I wish I could report that it was true. Unfortunately time has gone just as fast.   The one thing that is different, is that I know our youngest two boys on a level that, sadly, I will never have the opportunity to know my older children.

So we chose to homeschool our youngest two, Chris and Eli, right from the beginning.  We had nothing against the public schools. We just wanted to enjoy being a mom and dad for more than two hours a day.  As Christian parents, we did find it difficult to parent effectively for the short time that we had our children during the day. They would go to school at 7:30 a.m. They got out at 3:00 p.m. but then were involved in sports and sometimes didn't get home until 9:00 p.m. or later.   We had an hour to undo everything that the world had done in the last 12 to 14 hours.  They were dealing with peer pressure, struggling with certain classes and teachers, and living their lives with very little guidance. I do not fault the schools for this. With hundreds of kids, they cannot possibly give attention to every child in the capacity that is needed.  My only regret in all of this is that I did not have the confidence to homeschool my older children.   I missed out on many precious moments! Although there have been many ups and downs, I have fallen in love with homeschooling!

I was struggling at first trying to think of the different aspect I would share about our homeschooling adventure. However, as I have been writing this article, ideas are now flooding my mind. I am excited to share my experiences with you!