Selfish reasons for homeschooling

A friend of mine recently posted a list of selfish reasons why she homeschools because so many people had given her the "oh, I could never homeschool speech." I was surprised at how many of these reasons hold true for me, too. Sure, homeschooling is hard and our primary reason for doing it is for the kids, but here are some of the advantages of homeschooling:

1. I don't have to pack school lunches!
2. I don't have to get the kids out the door at a specific hour
everyday - sometimes I even sleep in a little! ( OK, all the time...)
3. I'm getting an education! I must say that I have a ton of holes in
my education, so as we learn world history or poetry, or stories of
important people, or pretty much anything, I'm learning right along
with them!
4. I feel closer to the kids and I don't have to miss out on their
adventures.
5. We can stay up late reading or watching a movie sometimes and I don't feel guilty for
sending them to school so tired the next day.

Dear New Homeschooler,

If you are reading this blog, it is probably because you are frantically searching the internet trying to find

out as much as you can about this crazy thing called homeschooling. Your head is probably spinning. I know. I was you not too long ago. You are probably spending hours and hours searching the internet for websites, curricula, and blogs. Like me you may have checked out every book the library has about homeschooling. When I did this, I got very good at skimming. For me this lasted about 2 years.

Beginning in year 3 the spinning may start to slow. Around this time, I started thinking maybe I should stop searching and reading and actually use some of the ideas I was finding with my kids. And I realized that my husband might actually want to spend time with me instead of seeing me glued to the computer or with my nose in a book. But by this time I was addicted. Could I really homeschool without being a member of 25 yahoo groups? If I stopped searching the internet, would I miss out on a great new resource?

Now in year 4 (technically we are in our 6th year of homeschooling, but the first 2 years I didn't know about all of the homeschool websites, curricula, and blogs - ah, ignorance was bliss!) I finally feel confident that I can do this. I have unsubscribed from all but 3 yahoo groups. I have deleted bookmarks of websites that I know I am never going to use. I have limited my blog reading to a handful that I either really like or find especially useful. I don't frantically examine every curriculum that crosses my path. If I am happy with what we are doing for math, history, etc., why do I need to spend time looking at something else?

Sure, I still have a ways to go. I may have deleted 1000 bookmarks, but I kept 1000 that I will probably never refer to "just in case.” I still read the digests of the 3 yahoo groups even though I rarely get anything out of them. But one day someone may mention the perfect resource that will revolutionize our homeschool ...

Yes, I have taken off the training wheels, but sometimes I still need someone to give me a little push. Some days I can ride by myself. Even then, I like it when others show me the cool trails they have explored because I may enjoy exploring them, too.

So, new homeschooler, right now your head may be spinning, but eventually you will find your balance. And even then you may feel wobbly, but only for a while. Pretty soon, it will be a smooth road with just an occasional pothole. You can do this. Just don't forget to enjoy the ride!

Yours Truly,

An Almost Veteran Homeschooler

Ewww!

My 6 year old was looking at her tongue in the mirror while eating a blue Jolly Rancher today and said,

"Look, mommy, I can see my taste bugs!"