Homeschool it is!

 I remember the day I chose to homeschool my daughters. It was on December 22nd, and we had just moved to Franklin, Tennessee from Laie, Hawaii.

My daughters were both young; eight and four years old, and I had previously told my husband I'd wanted to homeschool them when they entered middle school. 

But we had been through too many changes in such a short period of time, and I just couldn't bring myself to enroll them in school. I was also so burned out from working three jobs, and my health was quickly declining. Our family was out of balance, and I needed to do something fast. 

We took the much needed Christmas break to search out curriculum and file all the paperwork required from the county. And when January came along and all the kids headed back to school, my kids and I sat down on the couch and I took a deep, cleansing breath. I was terrified I was going to mess up my kids, but I just didn't have the energy to change my mind.

The first six months was HARD. I had done my research, and the "unschooling" method was what I felt we needed to get started on our homeschooling journey. Essentially, I relied on the public library for books to educate my kids, as well as YouTube videos and other free resources. My eight year old, who had been to public school since kindergarten, was very resistant to a non-classroom setting, but eventually, with a lot of prayer and a LOT of patience (which I prayed to have), we started to get into a routine, and I was hooked. 

I no longer had to get up early and battle a long line of cars to drop my kids off at school. I didn't have to worry about school absences and planning and scheduling trips and other things around the school year (because, I will openly confess that I HATE traveling when other people are doing it). 

Being a newly diagnosed diabetic myself, I appreciated the fact that since my kids weren't around other kids all day every day, we weren't getting sick as often. And we started to enjoy being together. 

That's the best part! I am with my kids all day, every day! 

That may not be a selling point for some moms, but for me, I just know that I only have so many years with my kids, and then they'll be out of the house forever. 

Gone.

This isn't to make mothers feel bad if their children go to public schools. Believe me when I say, there are days (several), that do not go as planned, and it's stressful and frustrating. But life is a gift of time, and how we spend it, is really up to us. We have 24 hours in a day, and that's all we can handle, no matter how that day looks. 

I hope you keep reading my posts this week, as I further share my thoughts and feelings about my homeschooling journey. 

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