At what point would you give up homeschooling?

[annettemarie]

If you were in an unhappy marriage and wanted to leave? If you really needed to extra income? If you absolutely couldn't stand being on call 24/7 with no break?

I'm just curious how hard other people would try to make it work.

[AAK]

If divorce was likely, I would give up homeschooling. I would also give it up if I needed extra income and needed full time employment. I would probably try to work part time and homeschool. I would also give up homeschooling if it felt like the family was suffering because of it. Like if because of the time I spend hs my dd took too much time away from my other children, spouse, etc. Or if I never got anything else done (rather than just having times that I don't get anything done). Or, if I really felt my sanity was being lost.

Amy

[4evermom]

I would have to really need a job for financial reasons, like if dh died, and also be unable to find any daycare situation that ds would be relatively happy in. If dh died and I could find someone for ds to be with during my work hours, I'd continue to homeschool.

[LauraLoo]

Well, if you had asked me two weeks ago, I would have said I would give it up for a decent night's sleep......but I was sleep deprived and delusional...

I do not think that I would give us HS'ing even if I had to go back to work full time - due to either a divorce or financial situation. I think I could swing doing both - it'd be rough, but I can't imagine sending my ds back to school. He says he *never* wants to go back to school. Even if I had severe health issues, we'd find a way to make it work.

I would give up HS'ing if ds was no longer enjoying it or suddenly changed his mind and decided that he wanted to try school - and I'm not holding my breath on either of these remote possibilities. I've pretty much resigned myself to homeschooling all the way through.

[Momma Aimee]

to me, and we are not far into this yet, it would be like any other parenting chice -- if it is not working for our family.

However i have to say -- i fully expect myself and my DH to suck it up and deal with a lot -- we are adults and we are responible to God to care for these children He gave us and that we intentionally had.

I do work, part time -- when DH is home with the boys. It is all about putting the boys (and any other children) first.

AImee

[Alana]

I would give it up only if:
A) it wasnt turning out to be the best educational choice for my children
B) the benefits to everyone involved were greater if they were enrolled into a school....even if it was for a short while during a transition period like a divorce.

Bottom line for me is I am responsible for giving/facilitating my kids with a proper education. It is imperative they receive it, and I need to make that happen however it needs to happen.

[EviesMom]

I work part-time now, so definitely not for that. If I had to have full time income, it would have to pay enough to cover sitter/tutor costs for the kid too young for public school, so it wouldn't be any cheaper to have 1 at home than 2. So not that either. I would move to a cheaper place/out of the city if DH died or if we separated or divorced. Homeschooling would be a priority.

To be honest, I think it would have to be discovering/affording a school that I really felt was in the kids best interest; or the kids requesting school. Part-time school would be a possibility, but we'd still homeschool most of the time.

I think if I had an illness that were terminal, I would want as much time with the kids as possible, and if not terminal, I would look to babysitter more than school.

[elizawill]

annettemarie, what you describe sounds very difficult. it's hard to say what i'd do, but i imagine in that situation i would be in no position to homeschool in a way that would be fair and enjoyable to my children. i personally don't do well when i'm stressed, depressed, and running on empty 24/7. i tend to have a lot less patience and my kids can often be victims of that without any direct intention on my part. i have to work very hard to make sure balance is in my life first to successfully create unconditional love & harmony for my family. i don't know what i would ever really do in a hypothetical situation, but i imagine i would need to stop (at least temporarily) if all the factors you mentioned existed.

[annettemarie]

Just to clarify, I'm not saying any of those are my situation. I'm just wondering at what point you all would give up homeschooling.

[meetoo]

When it stops working for us........ If myself or my kids were very unhappy homeschooling I would give it some time (say a month or two) if we are still very unhappy I would be looking for other options. Also if we come to a point where I don't feel I can teach them enough. There are pro's and con's to all schooling options, I don't really believe homeschool is the only way to raise responsible educated children. If it is making you miserable then something should probably change.

[hipumpkins]

My daughter's friend attends a beautiful charter school. If it were nearer to me i would send my kids.
I, sometimes (ok a lot) feel like my kids bicker too much and I am not equipped emotionally to deal with it.
I feel like that charter school would be the best place for them and I am second best.
I already work part time b/c we are broke. I am in a stressful marriage but not facing divorce. My job is the only time I am not on call. I work at night.

[CariOfOz]

Right now, financially, we're ok for me to be a sahm and homeschool the kids. Compared to the public schools they would have to attend if they were enrolled, homeschooling is definitely better for the kids. *however* If in the next couple of years we buy a house, which we are hoping to do, it may require me to get a job as my dh is self employed and lenders like to see the stability (lol) of a 2nd income.

IF we did that, we would enroll the boys in a private school that we both just love the idea of and have friends whose kids attend there and all are happy with it. When we are having a particularly crap day, I can really relate to this ....

Originally Posted by hipumpkins

My daughter's friend attends a beautiful charter school. If it were nearer to me i would send my kids.
I, sometimes (ok a lot) feel like my kids bicker too much and I am not equipped emotionally to deal with it.
I feel like that charter school would be the best place for them and I am second best.

As it seems like I spend a lot of time yelling :S We could squeeze out the $$ to enroll them this coming up January if we really wanted to... but it'd mean 40mins in the car TO and then from school. twice a day *EEEK* Thankfully MOST days are good and I don't feel like I do such a bad job, but on those really ick days I start thinking about this and that 1h20min round trip is a wake up call! lol

[SagMom]

My #1 reason would be if the kids didn't want to hs anymore.

Otherwise, I'd do everything I could to make it work--including moving to a less expensive area, or downsizing, or being creative about employment.

Hsing isn't just about education, so giving it up would be a major lifestyle change and we'd fight pretty hard to find a way to make it work.

[scheelimama]

If for some reason it really wasn't working for our family, I would give it up. I do know someone who went through a divorce over the summer and is continuing to homeschool her 4 kids. She got a full time job and has a homeschool friend that watches her kids (and does a bulk of the homeschooling) for her. In exchange, she buys the curriculum for them both and I'm pretty sure she goes over the work with her children in the evening. I'm really in awe of her.

[lotusdebi]

Originally Posted by annettemarie

If you were in an unhappy marriage and wanted to leave? If you really needed to extra income? If you absolutely couldn't stand being on call 24/7 with no break?

I'm just curious how hard other people would try to make it work.

I've been in those positions recently, but continued to homeschool. I wasn't always happy about it, but I did my best to put aside my anger and resentment so that I could continue to homeschool. My husband and I were separated for a year, and it was incredibly hard for me to do even more without assistance or breaks. I kept going. I'm ridiculously stubborn sometimes.

Originally Posted by Alana

I would give it up only if:
A) it wasnt turning out to be the best educational choice for my children
B) the benefits to everyone involved were greater if they were enrolled into a school....even if it was for a short while during a transition period like a divorce.

Bottom line for me is I am responsible for giving/facilitating my kids with a proper education. It is imperative they receive it, and I need to make that happen however it needs to happen.

This is how I feel.

[Momma Aimee]

Originally Posted by annettemarie

Just to clarify, I'm not saying any of those are my situation. I'm just wondering at what point you all would give up homeschooling.

THAT is good to know.

[midwestmom]

Originally Posted by SagMom

My #1 reason would be if the kids didn't want to hs anymore.

Otherwise, I'd do everything I could to make it work--including moving to a less expensive area, or downsizing, or being creative about employment.

Hsing isn't just about education, so giving it up would be a major lifestyle change and we'd fight pretty hard to find a way to make it work.

yeah, us too. I work part time and HS. I could work full time and homeschool. In my profession, I can be pretty creative with my work hrs. If DH died, we would have life insurance. I think I could make it work if we got divorced too, but that might be the hardest scenario and I don't see that happening anyway. I have a friend that is getting divorced, homeschools 3 young kids and is making it work.

[PJsmomma]

I don't know.
I hope never because it's working so well and I'm so in love with it.


I guess when it becomes apparent that a different choice would be best for my son.

I've been homeschooling him as a single mom (no income but what I make at home) for 3 full years--this is the 4th. It's been a wonderful haven in the middle of our stress and it would take a LOT for me to give it up.

[AngelBee]

I do not plan on giving it up. We would just adapt it to fit our lives circumstances.

[greenthumb3]

I guess the emergency scenarios are not the ones I immediately think of when I ponder "when" I might choose another educational option for my kids.

I would consider taking a 6 month or 1 year break for myself when my kids are teens, if they were interested in a charter school or private school or some other arrangement, b/c I imagine at some point in the coming years, I may want to feel a little more "freedom" in how I spend my time and if I want to just completely delve into learning something new and taking classes, or volunteering, or something, just to feel out the non-mommy side of me a tad more

But, maybe when my kids are mostly older, I can work those kinds of me-focused things in more than I can now (my kids are all young). One hour a week to go grocery shopping alone, reading a quick chapter of a book at night after everyone's asleep while I nurse a newborn, or chatting on a picnic blanket with other mommies while my brood runs recklessly through a park can only sustain me for so many years, yk