Our Decision to Homeschool

This is not a post I planned on writing! I was homeschooled from 2nd grade through high school— loved it — minus the first two years of high school where my private school friends would give me the school promo packets and I would leave them all around the house for my parents to see— but I never planned on homeschooling my own kids one day. Ben and I always knew that we wanted to try out the education programs available in our area and had home schooling as a back up plan If we didn’t like what was offered in our area.

Last year, when we lived in pittsburgh, both Sophia and Sienna went to a private school. And we liked it! This year, we moved down to charlotte mid school year and instead of putting her into school with a couple months left, my mom offered to homeschool sophia. She was already teaching my nephew who is a year older than sophia. It was so fun for them!

We signed up Sophia to go to the local public school. It was so close and we really wanted to try it out. We also signed up Sienna for a 5 days a week preschool program at a local church. Deep down I was lovingggg the idea of having two of the three kiddos off at school during the day so I could get some stuff done while micah napped! It sounded amazing and I was excited for their connections with the teacher and their classmates.

We are a couple weeks into the school year. And since day one I had a knot in my stomach. Just praying that we would be making the right decision for our kids. I absolutely adore Sienna’s preschool. It’s AMAZING. She loves it… still has some days she gets nervous and says she doesn’t want to go.. but when I pick her up she is skipping and singing I wuv my teacher I wuv my schooooool. Love that place so far and their education program.

Sophia is a little more of a gentle soul. She was shy at her old school but loved it still. First grade is a whole new ball game though. A lot more work and less play. From the second day it was clear she was not loving it. But that didn’t make me think twice about not sending her. I know it takes time for relationships to form and for adjustment to the routine. I get that.
I went to the back to school night and just wasn’t impressed. I didn’t see a place where I was like yessss this is where she is supposed to be! And that knot in my stomach kept on bugging me.

It only took me these two weeks to realize that our family life was a lot different than I grew up with. I had something to compare it too since my childhood was so different. This was a lot different than I imagined for my family..even though I didn’t imagine home schooling either. I dropped off Sophia in the am.. and picked her up late afternoon with an hour before dinner.. bath bed. Most of her days this year are going to be spent at school. I traded those hours with her for what? To not worry about her education? To be able to work at home without the crazy kids?

I was out with some girlfriends the other night and we were talking about the whole back to school schedule. Some were rejoicing in the alone time.. and I wanted to jump on that.. a part of me was loving it.. but I just said.. It feels weird. That was the first time I
said anything out loud semi negative towards our new routine. “It feels.. weird.”
And another mom looked at my and said yes natalie. it’s weird.
It’s what some families have to do.. and want to do.. but for me…
I just didn’t know if this was what was right for this year and for our family.
I believe homeschooling is kid by kid. It’s not for everyone but it is more approachable than you think. I can say that because I grew up with it.

I started praying that God would give me peace about what His path was for us.
If we were supposed to do this daily school grind then please give me that grace to push on and peace to know this was the right choice for my kids.
I was driving home from dropping off Sienna (who I drop off after sophia) and I started thinking….. this isn’t the lifestyle I imagined for my family.
This isn’t the way I want our day and interactions with each other to be.
I didn’t need to test out another 2 weeks to know that this wasn’t what I wanted.
But I did need that experience for myself before I would
be willing to say to myself..and out loud…. I want to Homeschool.
boom. peace. knot in my stomach completely gone.
Still a little anxious about whether or not I could do it, but regardless of what you fill your day up with…the days are full. for everyone. I don’t know many people that say oh there is just too much time in the day! Everyone, regular school moms + homeschooling moms, run out of time in the day. It’s how we schedule our days and strategize them, no matter what the tasks, that will help make us be able to succeed!

I think it’s important to challenge your kids and let them know you shouldn’t give up when it’s hard. I see that Sophia finds her new class routine hard. But I think this is too big of a life choice to chalk it up to “we can’t let her give up!”… I can teach her that same life lesson in other ways. I can help challenge her and put her in experiences and activities that take her a little out of her comfort zone. So that wasn’t a burden on my heart.

We love sienna’s preschool program and think she is thriving there. So we are going to keep her there for those 4 hours a day. I think that Sophia would thrive if I tutored her along with the help of my mom, who still tutors my nephew every morning. I probably wouldn’t feel as confident if it wasn’t for my mom being so close and having all of the lesson plans done and ready from doing first grade with my nephew last year. We have a schedule. I seriously have every minute of the day scheduled. Because I know that if this is going to work… I need a plan. I have her lessons planned out for every day for the full year so we can know what she has to learn and how many days we have to do it! The books my mom uses are amazing.. she brought them over and I love them. She even brought over her lesson schedule paper she prints out for each week (SAME ONE I used growing up homeschooling. haha. tried and true method.) She gave me that boost of confidence to feel like I could do this. And I’m excited for that daily time she is going to have with her granddaughter as well. My mom is so patient and kind and loves to see the kids learn…. it’s going to be a special year for sophia and my mom. which makes my heart happy.
I’m going to have set times and lessons I do with Sophia each day, and then an afternoon lesson with both Sophia and Sienna(after pre-k.) I’m excited! Being a work at home mom it’s important to have set times to work and set times to NOT WORK. haha. And even though when you own your own blog and company you are “always on.”…. Having those set times help you to get more done when it’s go time.

I’ll have 3 hours a day where I’ll just have micah. That’s right during his nap time… so that will be my go to work time. Running a business from home and parenting is hard. Even without school decisions in the mix. But it is possible. and it’s even more doable when you have a plan. My life is on paper right now… and this new schedule isn’t going to be easy.. but it is going to be right. It’s going to be the most thriving environment for my kids and our family life.

One of the main words I grew up hearing when it came to home schooling was SOCIAL.
Are they going to know how to be social?… What does that mean exactly?
Are they going to know how to interact with others? Are they going to be shy, unconfident, hide in the corner, weirdly dressed kids who don’t take the initiative or lead? As a homeschooler I would like to say that I’m proof that isn’t the case. Most of my friends growing up were a group of completely normal homeschooled kids and non homeschooled kids. There are plenty of kids socially awkward that aren’t homeschooled. I know there are strange homeschoolers..I get that. But I think that is more on their family lifestyle and choices. I grew up in a family that encouraged us to be vocal and interact with people. We traveled the world and met new and interesting people all the time. We experienced things that other kids that were in a classroom couldn’t. Two of my siblings went to regular high school after homeschooling. I went to college and did fine. If anything I think homeschooling helped me to learn how to interact with people that weren’t in my age group. I wasn’t with the same age group and people every day. I played sports for local school teams. I did church programs that led me to be an international speaker….traveling around the states and even flying me to Ireland to speak at a youth conference. Homeschooling didn’t keep me reserved and unsocial. I think how I was homeschooled pushed me to dream big and be vocal.

Being social doesn’t happen by just being in a classroom with kids every day.
You are able to be social by how and who and where you interact with people! It’s the experiences you collect on the day to day in many different types of situations that help you know how to interact with people and how to act as a person! A lot is on the parents. Especially when your kids are little. You are the one that helps your kids foster relationships with people.. taking them places..inviting people over… signing them up for new and challenging experiences!

I never thought I would be doing this.
And It’s not going to be easy.
But I’m so excited about being more involved in my children growing into the people
they are supposed to be. It’ll come with good days and bad days with them…
But I’m excited to HAVE those days with them.

Just like my childhood of homeschooling, we are taking it one year at a time.
If, in the future, we find a school that fits with the lifestyle we want for our family
and our needs, then we would consider it. But for now, this is the path we are
being led to take. Going into it with peace and trust.
Excited to share this decision with all of you!
Expect some homeschool themed posts and heart sharing!