We are getting closer to being mostly-ready. We'll never be completely ready. Perfect timing and absolute readiness may be valid goals for some, but they don't exist in my world. (This is reality. A reality I must remind myself of over and over again.)
There are three main areas of preparation:
Most of our extended family will be okay with our decision. I hope. I was homeschooled. Although most of our family does not, it is not a foreign concept.
The fact that I was homeschooled helps:
"How will they socialize? Will they be able to communicate with others?" Nope. I haven't spoken a word to anyone. Ever. I am incredibly uncomfortable speaking in groups. (If you know me, you are laughing right now.)
"How will they handle conflict?" Just fine. You and I are having this conversation and I haven't broken down in tears, have I?
"Will they LEARN? Will they be able to go to college? Will they get jobs? Live normal lives?!" I think my education prepared me to be a life-long learner. I have over four years of college and have held management positions. Now, I own my own business. As to a normal life, I would agree that "normal" is not something to which I aspire for myself or my children.
Reading those responses over, I have found one valid criticism: I need to cool it on the sarcasm. My comfort level in wielding sarcasm could possibly be blamed on homeschooling. My father has a black-belt in sarcasm and he taught me well.
*** Before you get offended, I do not consider ANY of the all-in-one curriculums I've looked at easy. I was particularly impressed by Memoria Press. Easy? No, ma'am!
There are three main areas of preparation:
- Organization. Organization of the house - and my brain. I am a very organized person but you would not know that if you looked at my house. There are a several reasons for this (one being the whirling dervishes I lovingly refer to as my spawnlets.) I will delve more into other reasons another time. I am setting the house in order in my head and then translating that into reality. Slowly, but consistently.
- Curriculum. I am looking at curriculum websites, checking out copious numbers of books from the library, and reading lots and lots reviews and forums. Part of me wants an all-in-one curriculum. There is an appeal to ordering a ready-to-go box o' curriculum. But I can never do things the "easy" way.***
- Emotions. We are all adjusting to this new life-plan. My husband and I check in with each other several times a day. "What about ______?" The reality is that the emotions we are most concerned with are the emotions of others. How are their teachers going to react? What about my fellow PTA members? My friends? And my colleagues? While our decision to homeschool is firmly based on what we believe is best for our family, the transition from public school to home education is much smoother when you have support.
Most of our extended family will be okay with our decision. I hope. I was homeschooled. Although most of our family does not, it is not a foreign concept.
The fact that I was homeschooled helps:
"How will they socialize? Will they be able to communicate with others?" Nope. I haven't spoken a word to anyone. Ever. I am incredibly uncomfortable speaking in groups. (If you know me, you are laughing right now.)
"How will they handle conflict?" Just fine. You and I are having this conversation and I haven't broken down in tears, have I?
"Will they LEARN? Will they be able to go to college? Will they get jobs? Live normal lives?!" I think my education prepared me to be a life-long learner. I have over four years of college and have held management positions. Now, I own my own business. As to a normal life, I would agree that "normal" is not something to which I aspire for myself or my children.
Reading those responses over, I have found one valid criticism: I need to cool it on the sarcasm. My comfort level in wielding sarcasm could possibly be blamed on homeschooling. My father has a black-belt in sarcasm and he taught me well.
*** Before you get offended, I do not consider ANY of the all-in-one curriculums I've looked at easy. I was particularly impressed by Memoria Press. Easy? No, ma'am!