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"Why Homeschool?" Guest Post Series- Ashley

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It is time for another amazing guest post for our Why Homeschool? series. Today we are hearing from Ashley who blogs at Life With Moore Babies. I have been reading her blog for a long time and I am so happy she is contributing today! If you are interested in reading past posts or learning how to be a part of this series yourself, visit my Guest Post page.  

This post is supposed to be about why we homeschool, and there are so, so many wonderful reasons to homeschool. However, even now, as we are just getting started formally homeschooling, I see so many hurdles.  So I wanted to write a post about the drawbacks of homeschooling as seen by a newbie homeschooler. These are in no particular order as on any given day one may be worse then another.

1. Responsibility: That’s right you’re responsible, and not just as a parent anymore either! Now you are responsible for the complete academic and social education your kids will receive.  No one wants their kids to be behind academically or socially awkward. Trying to ensure they are learning the appropriate things as well as get “enough” social interaction can be overwhelming.
2. Organization:  Everyone (at least in my mind) wants to be organized, but it doesn’t come easily to all people (me included). But to have a successful homeschool you really need some amount of organization.  I think most states require some sort of records to be kept (possibly even turned in) in order to homeschool. You have to be able to keep those records, store those records, and find those records. And if you have to follow what is taught in public schools it means even more organization. That is before you even think about what you do everyday! Fitting normal household duties and homeschooling into the same 24 hours along with sleep is HARD! Some people may be able to get by with a general idea while others need a structured schedule. Either way some organization on your part is certainly needed. 
3. Time:  If you thought you didn’t have time when you had a newborn (which you didn’t), you will likely have less when you start homeschooling, at least when it comes to yourself.  No you won’t be up at all hours schooling your children, but now you spend your free time planning lessons and researching curriculum or doing those household chores I mentioned above. Besides all the time you spend taking your children to co-ops, lessons, and play dates to make sure they aren’t behind or socially awkward.
4. People: All those well meaning individuals we meet in public places or at family reunions. The ones that immediately caution you on how weird and unsocialized your kid will be if you don’t send them to school.  This may not bother a lot of people, but I am not that self confident (yet).  I still take offense and have a hard time coming up with something clever to say. This bothers me so much that until recently when I was asked if I was homeschooling I would simply say, “we’re considering it.” Well, no more denial, my oldest is almost 6 and not enrolled in school; guess I really have to start dealing with all the questioning individuals out there.
5. Options:  There are tons of options. Decision making is not my strong point, so when greeted with so many teaching methods and homeschool curriculum options I kind of just shut down. After all, all of the options seem so appealing when you are first starting out. And there are so, so many great blogs out there reviewing curriculum! This is probably super helpful for decisive people, but those of us who wavier between things because really we want it all, have an even harder time when we find more and more wonderful books, teaching methods, and projects to do!

So now you are probably thinking, 
“WHAT DID I GET MYSELF INTO!”


At least I know I think this at least once a day! But even now, when we have barely begun, I can see things improving. I can see that I have had to get to know even more about my kids and my own personality to choose an option to fit their learning style, my teaching style, and our own situation. I can see that not everyone is judgmental when they question you; some actually admire you and tell you to keep up the good work. I can see that although we are pressed for time now, we will never get the time with our kids back, so a lot of my time can wait. I can see that although life can seem chaotic, organization will really only come with  practice and discipline (which we all need to learn). And I can see that I still have a huge responsibility to my kids to raise them and teach them to become kind, responsible adults who seek to do the right thing even when others do wrong because that is more important then academics or “fitting in” with their peers.  

So I guess all the “drawbacks” also have some positives to go with them; it is all a matter of perspective. And from my perspective, all the “drawbacks” are worth it! 

A classic strong-willed child, Ashley fulfilled her lifelong dream of becoming a veterinarian in 2005 only to realize a new dream had formed, having a family with her husband (another strong-willed child).  After much heartache, they were blessed with 2 daughters and a son, who are all proving to be just as spirited as their parents! Though she is still working part-time, she fills her days off with fun activities and lots of learning with her three kids.  And this is where the blog comes in, Life with Moore Babies is where she documents the activities they do and the places they go in hopes that someone might be inspired to do some “fun learning” with their kids. You can find Ashley on Facebook, Pinterest, Google +, and Twitter.

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Comments

  1. Erin D says

    Great post! The time challenges and the built-in mess from 5 people being home all the time were a big adjustment for me, but it’s still without a doubt the best things we ever did for our family.

    Reply

  3. Ashley says

    Not sure why it won’t let me reply to you two, but thank you so much for taking the time to read it! I really appreciate your encouragement!

    Reply

  4. Jennifer - The Deliberate Mom says

    This was such a great post. We just started homeschooling my daughter this year. I love it… I use a lot of my early childhood education skills to implement curriculum and so far it’s worked beautifully.

    I love going at our own pace and allowing my child to have some “control” over her preferred ways of learning.

    Thanks again!
    xoxo

    Reply

  6. Ashley says

    I wish it would let me reply to you all individually, but for some reason my computer won’t! Thank you both for the encouraging words, and yes, it is nice to know others feel the same from time to time!

    Reply

  7. Kristina Manscill says

    Awe man…you got me with the first two! I was home schooled up until 3rd grade and have considered doing it with my own kids but I am terrible at being organized!

    Kristina@ mothersniche.com

    Reply

  8. Sparkling says

    It’s interesting to hear this from a homeschooling parent. As a teacher, trained, educated and well-practiced, I often wonder how parents do it. I teach one subject and I am certainly no expert. Teaching all of the subjects, or finding qualified people who can, must be very overwhelming for homeschooling parents. Especially as the kids get into older grades.

    I wonder, with you having so many questions and feeling not confident enough, why you are forcing yourself to homeschool? It sounds like it might not be right for you yet. Like you want to do it but realize it’s going to be a lot of work!

    Reply

  9. Ashley says

    Kristina, it will take time, but you can figure it out in time. If it is what you feel you should do I would go for it!

    Sparkling, we are barely starting on our journey. I feel God has led me to this decision and will bring me through it despite difficulties along the way. I love the time with my kids and watching them learn. No one should go into without thinking there will be problems though; just like anything else in life. If I avoided doing everything I wasn’t confident in I would have never graduated vet school, got married, or had kids because I wasn’t sure exactly what I was doing when I began. You have to learn sometime, and no matter when you start it will take time.

    Reply

  10. Beth Gorden says

    Great honest look at Homeschooling. We love it, but it is a LOT of work & time. It’s good for people to not just see the warm & fuzzy part before they decide to jump in.

    Thanks for linking up to TGIF! Hope to see you linked up again today =)

    Have a great weekend,
    Beth =)

    Reply

  13. Kylee Shaw says

    I am seriously considering homeschooling either next year for 1st grade or for 2nd grade… and you just NAILED all of my concerns! Thanks for helping me wrap my head around all the randomn thoughts floating around!

    Reply

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