Posted on August 20, 2008 - by

Homeschooling for Me?

Those who have known me for a while, know that I used to be a school teacher.  I taught 8th grade Earth Science in the school district I grew up in, Cy-Fair ISD.  While I love teaching, I grew weary of the negative parent interactions, the lack of discipline in most students, and the inherent politics of any large organization.  So, I came home to work for my graphic designer husband, Shawn.

Shawn and I have debated about whether or not to homeschool children since before we even had any of our own.  While he was homeschooled for some portion of his own education, I grew up in the public school system here in Houston.  While I understand the pros and cons on both sides, I just never really wanted the responsibility of educating my own children and have felt (believe it or not) ill-equipped to do so.

But over the past year, the I’ve had a growing sense that we were going to need to homeschool Kate, at least for a few years.  (You know how the voice of God sometimes sounds like your spouse?  Yeah.  It was like that.)  And then there was just one situation that sent me on over the edge of that mountain and sealed the deal for me.  I won’t bore you with the details.  Let’s suffice it to say, I realized that Kate needed a little more attention in being confident with who she is before we throw her into any system that might try to say otherwise.

So, then the real fun began.  The oh-my-god-i’m-really-doing-this feeling hit and I started emailing and calling on friends that have been down this road and could give me good advice.  They were all very sweet and calming and encouraging, which helped tremendously.  *Lesson #1: Get a good support group.*

So, for the past few months I’ve been researching curriculums and educational models and philosophies and realizing I didn’t learn very much of this in college, surprisingly, and what DID my father spend so much money on anyways, and oh my gosh this is all so overwhelming and many other thoughts that would make this run-on of a sentence way longer. (well, at least we know I’ll be able to teach her the basics of grammar, right?)

I think I’ve found the path for me with a Charlotte Mason approach and an online curriculum called Ambleside Online.  I’ll be sure to keep you all posted on how this new chapter progresses.  And I would LOVE to hear from all of you who have homeschooled or are currently homeschooling.  I realize I have much to learn still…