How long before you knew you will HS?

[Oriole]

Just curious.
It's not an option with DSD (for many reasons), but DP and I were talking about it in the car last night, and I asked what he thought about homeschooling. He said he didn't mind the idea at all, and trusted me to do a good job with our future kids.

I know this sounds silly, but I can't wait. Did anyone else make this decision WAY before it was needed, or am I a freak of nature?

[*Jessica*]

I decided before I was pregnant with my first! You are definitely not alone, or a freak of nature.

[ocelotmom]

Originally Posted by Oriole

I know this sounds silly, but I can't wait. Did anyone else make this decision WAY before it was needed, or am I a freak of nature?

Yes, I'd already decided before I had kids that I wanted to homeschool.

I can't remember exactly how the idea came about - probably discussion on a mailing list I was on in my late teens (and actually still am, over 10 years later!). There was at least one family on the list that homeschooled, and at least two others besides me (I don't believe either of them had kids at the time of that particular discussion) who planned on it.

I don't think I thought about it in a whole lot of depth before becoming pregnant, but I definitely knew by that point that it was what I wanted.

[CariOfOz]

I doubt you're a freak of nature! I did not know early on at all. I did not homeschool my two older sons (who are almost 17 and 21 respectively), but wish I had hs'd the 16yo as he is struggling in high school for various reasons But his father is NOT open to hs'ing.

I have 3 younger boys ages almost 8, almost 6 and 3.5. The older two of them have been hs'ing since half way through mr 8's Kindergarten year.

[jake&zaxmom]

We decided that we wanted to homeschool about 4 years before our first was conceived.

[greenmamapagan]

Originally Posted by *Jessica*

I decided before I was pregnant with my first! You are definitely not alone, or a freak of nature.

Ditto. We decided long before DD was born.

[kittie313]

I decided at 18yo after meeting my cousins for the first time. Then 3 years later I had my first child.

[LuxPerpetua]

We actually decided when dd was 1.5. Before that I was very much against homeschooling, but after having dd and seeing her needs (and just loving being with her) we felt that homeschooling was the best choice for us. I know a lot of people who decided to homeschool before they had children, so no, you're not a freak.

[Savoir Faire]

My daughter was probably one when I finally announced I was considering (I was SHOCKED when my husband agreed!)....but I'd have to say I knew even before that...I was just too scared to say it out loud.

[AAK]

I was going to homeschool before my kids were born. All the way up until I had my second child and was bit overwhelmed. Then, I got pg with my third a few months before dd1 was to start kindergarten. She had loved preschool, so I did kinder also. We had a great teacher and I started to think I was indeed nuts for wanting to hs. Then came first grade--dd was bored, awful teacher, playground nastiness. DD didn't want to leave school and dh wasn't onboard with the idea. 2nd grade was awesome. GREAT teacher, dd started gifted program (pullout program one day/week). This provided enough stimulation for her (and, that awesome teacher always had a talent with her). Then came 3rd grade. Teacher was OK. DD was VERY bored. Asked to come home. We pulled her out at xmas break. She still goes to the gifted program.

Long answer. Could be longer. But, well. . . I was GOING to homeschool from the start. I guess I knew what I wanted early on, but let everything else get in the way.

Amy

[elizawill]

when my daughter was a newborn (she's 8 now), my goal was to quit working and be a full-time SAHM and homeschool. mission accomplished

[tabrizia]

I knew about 5 or 6 years before I got pregnant with DS that I planned to homeschool any children I had. It took a year or two for DH to come around. We were both committed to homeschooling long before I got pregnant though.

[paxye]

I have always planned on homeschooling... I even told DH that I would be homeschooling my kids on our first date...

We had our first child 5 years later...

[earthmama369]

We started really talking about our options when dd was in infant. I don't remember us making a specific decision...it feels more like it was a natural progression toward "hey, this is a really good fit" as we got to know ourselves as parents and dd and ds as individuals better.

[zjande]

I wish I could remember when the thought 1st crept into my mind. I had my dd when I was so young (17) that I don't think I was even aware of homeschooling yet. I started researching it when she was in 3rd grade, spent a whole year researching, & pulled her out of school in 4th grade. That was just about 10 yrs ago.

[Oriole]

Thank you very much for all the replies. This makes me feel a little better.