Homeschooling was never on my radar. In fact, I viewed homeschool through the lens of stereotypes. I was also under the philosophy that “public school was good enough for me,” why would I ever do something different.
Backup to college days… I was in the middle of my undergraduate degree when I did my first teaching practicum. It was at that point I began to question my public school viewpoint. Before I go any further I do want to put out a disclaimer. You are NOT a bad parent for sending your child to public school. I never want anything I post or say to be condemning in any way, especially when so much of this topic is circumstantial and up to each family. These thoughts and convictions are personal and mostly developed through personal experience.
During my student teaching I told my husband that if we had children, I would prefer to send them to private school if possible. There were so many things I experienced as an elementary level teacher that I felt were so heartbreaking for children of that age to be exposed to. He agreed and the plan became a private Christian school if and when we had children.
If you read my previous post about “How I Became A Homemaker” it gives more explanation into the next stop on our journey. Basically, once I became a stay at home mom, viewpoints began to change and God placed several people in our life that made us realize homeschooling was where we needed to go in our next step. It was an easy transition since I had so many little ones at the time. Four kids under the age of 5 meant chaos unless there were routines and structured points in our day. This led the way to a natural transition to homeschooling.
So that is our story, it’s short and pretty simple, but it’s been an amazing experience thus far. It hasn’t been without its struggles though. Just because the Lord lays something on your heart doesn’t mean it’s easy to carry out. In fact, we have had many tribulations along the way. From dyslexia, to giving birth to a child with medical needs, to postpartum depression struggles, balancing teaching so many children at one time, etc., homeschooling has its very raw and difficult moments. I’m so grateful for a God who leads us through these moments and when we are faithful to His call on our lives, He is faithful to redeem those difficult days and moments.
I would love for you to share in the comments a summary of your homeschool journey! How did you get here? And if you aren’t a homeschool parent yet, what is holding you back? Do you feel called to do it as well?