Strange question...

[northcountrymamma]

So dd has been going to private montessori for quite some time now (since she was 3) she is 6.5 now and we are having a baby in the winter. She is continuing her montessori school until the baby comes but at that time, for a multitude of reasons (another thread I posted a while back details them), she won't be able to continue, so as of January we need to make a change to public school. However...recently she has asked me why we can't do home schooling like some of our friends do. I'm not opposed to homeschooling, in fact it was my original plan for dd, but after 3 years of integration into a school system and the likliehood that I won't be able to homeschool beyond 3 more years when I will financially need to go back to work, how practical is it to change now and then change again, giving her 3 different schooling experiences before the age of 9. (She would have to be in public at that point because montessori here only goes to grade 3).

any thoughts?
TIA!

[Heavenly]

Personally I would stick with school. You are having a new baby and you have no idea how much of a time commitment it would be to homeschool a 1st or 2nd grader and deal with a new baby. I'm sure she'll do just fine at school and you will have some much needed one on one time with you new little one.

[JollyGG]

The one thing I have learned with my school aged child is to deal with one year at a time. How do I meet my child's needs now and tomarrow? I have ideas in my head of possible paths to take next but I don't allow myself to get caught up in looking too far down the road.

Life is unpredictable I don't know exactly how my life will change, who I will be in the future, or who my kids will be in the future. So I try to meet my families needs for the immediate future, especially in regards to schooling.

Plus if homeschooling is something you want to do and something your child wants to do I wouldn't let a future return to school deter you. It may change exactly how you home-school as you would want to try and keep on level with her classmates if a future return to school is planned.

Is the homeschooling idea something you could revisit this summer after baby is here and life is settled down? I would ask DD to give public school a try if that is best for you family for now and then evaluate how it went and talk about options for next fall over the summer.

[mattemma04]

I have a dd 11 and a ds that is 8.We have done Montessori,public,homeschool,and online public school. I don't think it is a big deal at all to switch schooling situations to meet current needs.It has not bothered the kids at all.Only issue is each schooling has a different level of standards/expectations for the students grade/age.Not a HUGE issue,but you sometimes have to catch up in areas,or be a bit bored while working through things you already know.

Best wishes whatever you decide.