Homeschooling: 5 Things I'm Not Worried About, Part 1

So we've made the leap and decided to homeschool our daughter next year.

I'm quite amazed that I am now, officially, a "homeschooling mom." I keep thinking that strange-sounding title belongs to someone else, not me -- just like "wife" sounded pretty strange once my husband and I got married, and "mother" sounded a bit weird too after we had our daughter.

I never thought I would homeschool. In fact, I always said I would NOT homeschool (not because I didn't like homeschooling, but because I have never had any desire to be a teacher). So the fact that I am going to be devoting a major part of my life next year to this pursuit is rather funny, and the fact that I am totally excited about it is even funnier.

As I think about homeschooling, there are many things I'm still thinking through: how best to organize our days, how much time our various subjects will take, and how flexible or scheduled to be. But there are some things I'm not worried about at all.

1. That we'll be isolated. The great thing about homeschooling is that we can decide how many extra activities we want to be involved in. For months, Holly has been asking me to find a painting class for her to take. I finally found a free art class for preschoolers at The Walters Art Museum, which she's very excited about. We're also going to continue MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) where every other week we meet with 60 other moms and their kids, the moms enjoying a wonderful hot breakfast and a speaker or small group time while the kids are looked after in age-appropriate classes by wonderful volunteers. And we'll still be able to have playdates with our friends and neighbors.

2. That it will be boring. I spent weeks researching curriculum options, and the company I finally settled on, Sonlight, has amazing materials. When our materials arrived in two big boxes, and we opened everything up, my daughter had over 60 items she will be using next year -- fascinating books like the Usborne Internet-Linked Children's Encyclopedia, kits containing everything we will need for science experiments, manipulatives so she can learn math, and so on. Holly kept pulling items out of the boxes yelling, "Hey Mom, look at THIS!" No, I don't think any of us will be bored.

3. That the kids and I will get tired of each other. I'm not worried about this because I'm confident we will get tired of each other at times (thus, I don't need to worry about it). Let's face it, I've already been with these little people almost every day for the past 4 years, and I've already experienced those days when I wish I had a different job...one that required leaving the house for an extended amount of time. I'm sure homeschooling will be the same way on occasion and I won't worry too much when those feelings strike.

I'm going to try to post something every Monday, so check back on Monday for the final two things I'm not worried about!

***

Our homeschooling boxes arrive! One happy girl.




The awesome materials we'll be using next year.