To Homeschool or Not to Homeschool: That is the Question!

Over the course of the last couple years, my husband and I have been mulling over the idea of homeschooling.  Is it the right answer for our family or not?  And once you make the decision - how will you know it was the right decision?  Anyone who has traversed this road, knows it's not a decision you take lightly.

To further our journey and education of this potentially life-changing decision, my husband and I attended the Greater St. Louis Area Home Educators Expo this last weekend.  What a resource this was!  For two days, novice to seasoned homeschooling parents were able to take 4-6 courses a day on subjects ranging from how to handle resistant learners to creating a lesson planner to help avoid anarchy to guiding the gift in your child to energizing your curriculum.  The Expo also covered topics for those parents with highschoolers covering topics related to talking with college reps and teaching high-school math!  They covered it all! 

I also learned that you can pick the courses for your child - similar to an a la carte menu or you can just by one program that covers it all so you don't have to do too much thinking.  Brilliant solutions for just about every child and parent out there!

Between classes, my husband and I were able speak with exhibitors for math, science, language arts, history, PE, foreign language and art courses.  The quality of programs represented was outstanding.  Of course there were also those extra classes for students that made me want to do my education all over again!  For example there is the Eagle Forum leading the pro-family movement since 1972, created by Phyllis Schlafly and the Teen Eagles program, "...to facilitate growth among students who have a basic Christian worldview and provide them with the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and experience by becoming involved in civic activities and the political process."  I found myself excited about creating the best education for my kidlets and then riding the wave of this education with them!

On my homeschooling search, I also found this article helpful on The Ten Most Important Things You Need to Know About Homeschooling.

By the end of the weekend, my husband and I made our final decision: We're going to homeschool my oldest (1st grade) next year.  But then again, how do I know we're making the right decision?  I don't at this point...what I do know is that I'm very excited about it as is my daughter.  It's one of those things we just have to go for it and see where it leads us.  I call it the "rocking chair test."  I imagine myself at 90 yrs old in my rocking chair, looking back at my life, pondering any regrets.  I think, "If I did not attempt this journey of homeschooling, would I regret it?"  If the answer is "yes" I go for the adventure.  Frankly, a regret is not something I am willing to live with.  I'd rather give it go and flunk miserably than wonder forever "what if".  So come June 1st, we march into a new world, a new life-stlye, a new adventure!  And I can't wait!