We have a had a number of responses to our "Yes you can Homeschool" post and Lana wanted to add in some thoughts from when I first told her of my Great New Idea.
Her initial concern about whether she could homeschool was not fear of being inadequate. It was more a fear of taking on the responsibility. In today's society it is considered the school's job to teach children - with parents taking a secondary role.
"What if I taught them the wrong stuff, or not enough?"
"What if they didn't get enough variety? How can I do everything? Do you want hot meals and clean clothes or not?"
As these were all initial reactions based on inadequate information, we had some investigating to do.
Meeting other families, quizzing their children, checking for extra heads or weird looks in the children's eyes - are all the type of things you look for when you inquire into alternative lifestyles.
Lana wasn't completely convinced, but other homeschoolers seemed pretty normal, even likeable, and their children appeared to be turning out well.
So, we decided that we could give it a go. If it didn't work we could always put them into the school.
But the funny thing was that as we began to homeschool and approach it as part of a complete life choice, all the other benefits starting accumulating and school just didn't make any more sense as an option.
It wouldn't save time, the children would have more work and possibly less education, they would have less time with their siblings and we would see them less. Our life style is now built around the flexibility of homeschooling so seamlessly that to adopt a school-centred life would be quite traumatic.
So ten years later, we are still going.
Her initial concern about whether she could homeschool was not fear of being inadequate. It was more a fear of taking on the responsibility. In today's society it is considered the school's job to teach children - with parents taking a secondary role.
"What if I taught them the wrong stuff, or not enough?"
"What if they didn't get enough variety? How can I do everything? Do you want hot meals and clean clothes or not?"
As these were all initial reactions based on inadequate information, we had some investigating to do.
Meeting other families, quizzing their children, checking for extra heads or weird looks in the children's eyes - are all the type of things you look for when you inquire into alternative lifestyles.
Lana wasn't completely convinced, but other homeschoolers seemed pretty normal, even likeable, and their children appeared to be turning out well.
So, we decided that we could give it a go. If it didn't work we could always put them into the school.
But the funny thing was that as we began to homeschool and approach it as part of a complete life choice, all the other benefits starting accumulating and school just didn't make any more sense as an option.
It wouldn't save time, the children would have more work and possibly less education, they would have less time with their siblings and we would see them less. Our life style is now built around the flexibility of homeschooling so seamlessly that to adopt a school-centred life would be quite traumatic.
So ten years later, we are still going.
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