Homeschool Decision – Part 1

If you really wanna know, we are thinking about homeschooling. For real this time.

I feel like I should back up and give some history. I have always thought about homeschooling but have never really put any serious consideration behind it. I admire people who homeschool. I totally see the benefits of it. I just never thought I could homeschool.

For starters, my kiddo is high maintenance. Or, she was. She was a high needs baby and a terrible sleeper through toddlerhood. Like, terrible. I nearly had a mental and physical breakdown over it. I wish I were kidding. I adored her at age 2 and then age 3 hit. I questioned why I ever wanted children. Hence the reason she is an only child. There was no way I was signing up for another one. At that point, I in fact swore that I would never homeschool for the sheer fact that I could not fathom spending every moment with Satan’s Sister. It’s tough being 3. For everybody.

Secondly, I work and our family needs my income. I didn’t work at all for the first 12 months after she was born. I firmly believe that those are formative months and babies need their people. Then, because things were super tight, I started working part-time from home. Again, it was important for me to be home with her during that crucial development time but it was getting tricky. That high needs thing. Starting around age 2, she participated in a Mother’s Day Out Program 2-3 days a week. It gave me uninterrupted work hours and a break from the constant-ness that comes with a toddler/preschooler. However, I enjoyed doing crafts and learning activities with her at home. I lived on No Time For Flash Cards. However, we reached a point where I had taught her letters but I had absolutely NO CLUE how to teach her to put those sounds together to make words and read. Working and homeschooling seemed impossible especially with the aforementioned high-needs girl. So, it’s off to school she went. 

We were very fortunate to have a Montessori school close to us. It was part of our public school system but you had to apply through a lottery system to get in. I prayed hard for her little number to be pulled. Montessori education is awesome. I knew it would be perfect for my tactile mini me. We all rejoiced when she got in. I happily participated with the PTO (I’m currently on the Board) and was in awe when she started reading fluently at age 4.

All seemed right with the world. I now had 5 days a week all to myself during the day to work uninterrupted. I took on a more intensive job position and our finances improved and became stable for the first time since she was born. Me and hubby were less stressed and our marriage improved. It seemed that school was the solution to all of our problems. So, why in the world are we wanting to scratch it and start over?

Stay tuned for part 2.