Homeschooling has been an idea that has been swirling around in the back of my mind. Pushing this idea even further are the changes that are constantly being made in our public schools which, in my opinion, doesn’t seem to benefit our children much. Recently, something personal that has happened to me in my local public school drove me to leaning towards homeschooling even more:

About 4 weeks after school started, I attended open house at my son’s school. Just as my turn came to speak to my son’s teacher, someone else’s son happened to be standing next to me since his mother was also close by waiting to speak to the teacher. Towards the tail end of our conversation, I asked the teacher to see my some of my son’s work samples which were in another classroom. She turned to the boy standing next to me, called him by my son’s name, and instructed him to show me where to find the other room where the work samples were. The child looked taken aback but did as he was told. I thought it was an honest mistake, followed the child, and proceeded to search for my son’s cubby. Five minutes later, while the child and I are still searching for my son’s cubby, the teacher walks in, calls him by my son’s name again and asks, “Why haven’t you directed your mom to your cubby? Don’t you know where your own cubby is?” Now the kid is completely confused. I interject and tell her, “It’s because he’s not my son.” She stood shocked, completely embarrassed and apologized profusely, but the damage was already done. Now if this was the first week of school, I’d dismiss it with the excuse that she’s still learning the names of students and got them mixed up. However, this was a whole month later, after she’d spent hours everyday with these children. Unsettling thoughts that came to mind: 1. My son is just another number 2. She’s not vested in my son or his learning style.

Previously, I’d tried the route of private school for 2 years and while its perks of smaller classroom sizes and one on one learning were ideal, the access to gifted/magnet testing were limited and the cost was extremely expensive. This conclusion led me to transition to public schooling but now I am regretting the decision. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that public school teachers are all bad or don’t care. What I do know is that I never want to feel the way that I did that night and the days thereafter.

Homeschooling seems like a great option, but the task seems so daunting. Will it be the right decision for my family? Do I have the capability or patience to homeschool? How much money will it cost? What about social skills? There’s so much information/resources on homeschooling but honestly, I don’t even know where to start.

If you’ve homeschooled your children, weigh in. Share your story of why you made the decision to homeschool, how it has benefitted your family and most importantly, how it has benefitted your child(ren).

In anticipation,

Soleil, Mother of Mari Lou, Cassandre, & Samson