Well the time has come to decide if I want to continue homeschooling next year. Honestly it's a very hard decision to make. I love having all the children at home but I also feel a little overwhelmed sometimes. I also feel like if Seth and Taylor were in school then I'd have more time to spend with Scott and Ethan. The public schools here are good, but I'm afraid Seth would be bored again. I'm not sure how I would homeschool two kids at one time and sometimes the kids just drive me crazy.
On the other hand, I'm not sure public school is the best place for the kids. All the kids have to learn at the same pace. I'm not sure exactly what was covered in kindergarten in the public school after Seth left so I'm not sure exactly where he'd be in a first grade class. You also have to provide more documentation if you are enrolling from homeschool and it says that the child has to take some sort of test to determine what grade they would be in. I don't like that for some reason. There are some great curriculums out there too.
Maybe I just don't have enough self-confidence. I know that many families manage to homeschool with many kids. I know that the first year of homeschooling can be a learning experience for everyone. I know that homeschooling is a learning process for everyone. So many decisions. I'll let you all know what we decide.
I want to homeschool, but sometimes I am also worried about not getting a break from the kids. But truly, while the public schools here are ok academically, I am not impressed with what I heard about their moral teachings.
ReplyDeleteWould you consider a university model of schooling? Ie mostly homeschooling, but they go to classes one or two days a week. It seems a great compromise, and also helps in the upper grades where the homeschooling mom's knowledge of science etc may be lacking. I am strongly considering the Providence Academy, if we can afford it: http://www.providence-academy.com
I am also not impressed with their moral teaching as we were in public school for 3 months. We have considered Providence. We know people who go there and they love it and it sounds like a wonderful school as we have gone to a preview meeting. It's not that expensive, but with 2 kids in it is. So we probably won't do it this next year, but maybe the year after. It is actually my ideal as they go 2 or 3 days a week. Yes, I think right now it's more of my not getting a break from the kids and being snowed in last week didn't help. :-)
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