OK all you homeschooling moms – you know what I am talking about. There are some great benefits to homeschooling and I absolutely know it was the right choice for my child, but there are some days (ok well weeks or months even) where it is just plain hard. You question if you are doing the right thing: Is your child learning anything? Are they missing out on something because they are not in a traditional school? Will they be able to have the future they want with a homeschool education? And those are just the big questions. You have to choose a curriculum or in many cases like mine, you have to make it up from scratch because nothing out there seems to work for my child’s particular needs. You have to be a teacher and a parent. Those are two very different jobs and you have to do both at the same time.
My child is now a teen and he sleeps ALL THE TIME! Gone are the days I wake him up in the morning, do my teaching and leave him with some work while I do my regular offline job. Have you ever tried to teach complex fractions at 11:30 at night when you’ve been up since 6:30? Yeah – it’s not a pretty picture.
I’ve done a wide variety of homeschooling styles over the years, depending on where his interests and needs were at that particular time. I have found none of them to be easier than the other. We did traditional academics here and there, but that is not a great fit for his learning style. Unschooling works well when you and your child are on the same page about learning. Interest led curriculum is great, but when your child’s interests are completely foreign to you then it takes quite a bit of time and research to develop a learning plan. My son is currently into reading translated Japanese manga novels. And when I say “into” I mean obsessed to the point of needing to be reminded to stop and eat kind of obsessed. I’m struggling to come up with a way to incorporate other subjects into this theme. But I will figure it out — or maybe just call it language arts and move on.
Is it worth it? If you have ever felt the joy of seeing your child finally understand something challenging or see them light up as they learn something new, then you know – it is totally worth every minute.
For all of those moms out there that homeschool – you rock! And for those that are considering it, just know that there are days it may be tough but it is also one of the most rewarding things you can do for your child and yourself.