Making The Decision To Home School

However, when you do find yourself in the position to
be able to make the choice, there are many things you need
to know about before deciding to accept responsibility for
your child’s education.

First and foremost, you need to know that home
schooling tends to take up a lot of time in your day. It is
more than just sitting down with books for a couple of
hours. There are experiments and projects to be done,
lessons to prepare, papers to grade, field trips, park days,
music lessons, and the list goes on.

It can be much like a full-time job, but this is your
child’s education, so making that kind of commitment needs
to be fully understood in order for them to actually benefit.

Having a set schedule helps manage the time you do have..
Home schooling does require a certain amount of
personal sacrifice for the parent. The home school parent
has little personal time or time alone. If care is not taken to
set aside time for yourself, it is easy to never have time
alone. Parent and child are together nearly all the time.
That can be extremely stressful, so make sure you’ll be able
to schedule time for yourself.

There is a bit of financial strain on the family unit as
well. Home schooling can be accomplished very
inexpensively; however, it usually requires that the teaching
parent will not be working out of the home. Some sacrifices
will need to be made if the family is used to two incomes.
Because school will be at home, your child will not have
as many opportunities to make friends and develop socially.
More attention will need to be given to getting your children
together with others. The beauty of home schooling is being
able to have more control of the social contacts your child
makes. This is where the home school support group can
become a lifeline.

Life requires a certain amount of mundane work in
order to maintain an orderly household. Housework and
laundry still have to be done, but it probably won't get done
first thing in the morning. If you are a stickler for a spotless
house, you might be in for a surprise. Not only does
housework need to be let go at times, but home schooling
creates messes and clutter in itself. Relax your expectations
and make school the first priority and housework a later
one.

All family members should be included in the decision
to home school. Some authoritarian parents may disagree
with this concept, but when you have everyone in the
household’s support, your job as teacher will be much
easier.

It is important that both parents agree to try home
schooling. It is very difficult to home school if one parent is
against it. If your spouse is against it at this time, try doing
more research and talking to more people so that you will be
armed with as much information as possible to bring your
spouse around to your thinking.

A willing student is also always helpful. Ask your child
how he or she feels about being schooled at home.
Ultimately, the decision is the parent’s to make, but if your
child is dead against it, you might have a hard time being
effective.

Most parents take home schooling one year at a time.
There’s no need to become overwhelmed at a lifelong
commitment. Circumstances change, and public school is
always going to be there if you find that home schooling is
no longer an option for you.
Some parents who truly feel that their child should get
their education at home are intimidated, even scared, that
they won’t be an effective teacher. The truth is that if you
can read and write, you can teach your child. The
curriculum and teacher materials will help through the
planning and teaching. Get help from others if you get stuck
or hire tutors for the difficult subjects.

Plus, there are so many resources out there for parents
who are teaching their child, you’ll be hard pressed to be
completely clueless when it comes to certain topics. Of
course, we’ll have a separate chapter on where to find these
resources, but rest assured that the information you need is
out there for the taking.

Talk to other people who have experience with home
schooling. Listen to the reasons why they made this
decision themselves and how they feel it is working out.
They can become part of your support system as well, so it’s
good to make the initial contacts BEFORE you decide rather
than after.

I’m a big fan of the pro/con list. Divide a piece of
paper in half with a line down the middle of the sheet. Label
one column “Pros” and list all of the advantages of home
schooling. Label the other column “Cons” and list the
disadvantages. This should give you a better idea of
whether or not your mind and heart are in the right place.
Consider some of the following when making your list:

Advantages:

· Parents know their child better than any other teacher
could. Because of this, parents can custom-tailor the
learning experience. Your children's interests, abilities
and learning styles can be accommodated.

· Home schooling gives a family more time-- to be
together, to strengthen relationships, and to share
values and ideas. Many families find that learning at
home takes less time than learning at school.
There are some school activities that take away
learning time from children. When you regain that time
by schooling at home, this allows your child to learn
more and pursue personal interests. Plus, they can
move at a quicker pace than in the traditional
classroom. Simple but life enriching activities such as
reading can be reclaimed and put to educational use.

· Many children who are publicly schooled sometimes
find the noisy, crowded environment in a classroom
stressful. Recurring stomachaches, headaches, and
anxiety may all improve in a happy, peaceful home
environment.

· Beyond the traditional subjects taught in school,
children can obtain life skills, such as managing money,
cooking, and carpentry, by participating in real
activities required at home.

· Contrary to what many opponents feel, home schooled
children can become better socialized than their peers.
They are not confined to the same-age-only
relationships of the school setting, so they have more
experience in getting along with people of all ages.

· Finally, and the bottom line for many prospective home
schoolers is that home offers a degree of safety that no
school system can provide. Drugs, alcohol, violence,
peer pressure are all absent in the home setting as
opposed to the school setting.

Disadvantages:

· The awesome responsibility for education rests
squarely where most home schoolers believe it should:
on the family's shoulders. Many people may be
unwilling or unable to assume the responsibility, and
would prefer that it be left to others.

· The increased "togetherness" is a bitter pill to swallow
for some. Fortunately, many find that home schooling
is a positive, relationship-healing process. Over time,
both the children and parents change, relax, and come
to enjoy being together in a way that is not possible for
those families who are able to only spend leftover
snippets of time together.

· Home schooling takes more effort than sending children
to school. In addition to basic subjects, energy is
required to stay informed about and engaged in
activities and opportunities, legislation, and home
schooling methods and ideas.

· Your home will look very different when you home
school. Some people find this to be much more difficult
than they expect – especially when they are used to “a
place for everything and everything in its place”
mentality.

· You could be subject to some intense criticism from
family, friends, and society in general. Be prepared for
this and arm yourself with information. Remember why
you want to home school and remain committed to
your decision.