Did/Do you struggle with the decision....

[Cassandra M.]

to put your child in school?

My daughter is in kindergarden at a charter school this year, and while I see she seems to be thriving and doing great, I am still so sad I'm not homeschooling, and feel jealous of other homeschoolers.

I don't know if I have what it takes to homeschool, I really struggled to be consistant and patient last year while "homeschooling" her through preschool, plus she was really wanting to interact with more kids, and I felt I was holding her back in a sense by not putting her in school.

I don't know, I'm very confused.

I posted this in Learning In School but thought I'd get more responses here.

[Brigianna]

I am now. We're homeschooling now, but I've struggled with and have pretty much decided to put my ds in a part-time non-academic preschool. The hard part will be when he gets to real school age--I firmly believe in homeschooling, and I'm committed to homeschooling dd1, but what I'm afraid of is that the personality differences between ds and me will prevent me from being able to meet his needs at home. I guess we'll figure that out when we come to it...

[newmommy]

We must be on the same wavelength...I spent several hours yesterday doing a search on "homeschool" here on MDC and other boards.

So I am pretty much subscribing to this thread.

I really want to homeschool DS. I am terrified of sending him to ANY school (private, public, charter) but I have *issues* so I have to work on that.

[marybethorama]

I did struggle

for a long time

but we chose school and are still there

There are advantages and disadvantages but overall it's been a good thing for us.

[Mama Poot]

My kids are just babies yet, 17 months and 6 months, but we do think about this a lot. I think homeschooling sounds great in theory but highly doubt it will work in our family. I want to get a job, possibly go back to school myself, do other things and if I homeschool my kids, those things might not be possible. Yeah I could try to homeschool AND do things for myself, but then the kids may not get the education they need and deserve, in that case it would be better if other people taught them. We shall see what happens.

[CalebsMama05]

Originally Posted by Mama Poot

My kids are just babies yet, 17 months and 6 months, but we do think about this a lot. I think homeschooling sounds great in theory but highly doubt it will work in our family. I want to get a job, possibly go back to school myself, do other things and if I homeschool my kids, those things might not be possible. Yeah I could try to homeschool AND do things for myself, but then the kids may not get the education they need and deserve, in that case it would be better if other people taught them. We shall see what happens.

same...mine are 23 & 7 months and i'm struggling. maybe things will work themselves out before he's ready for kindegarten. I hope so.

[Eman'smom]

Oh my did I struggle. Ds is in K at a Charter School now and we are very happy, but it was really hard for a while.

We looked into all options from homeschool to local public to expensive private, I researched different programs for homeschooling but in the end we thought this would be our best choice. I too worried about struggling with personality conflicts. I'd like to get my masters, I'd like to oh, get a haircut, you get the idea. I don't have much in the way of a support system all our family is on the other coast and dh works long hours so I worried about how I would make it all work.

[phathui5]

Not at all. We homeschool and I'm completely comfortable with that decision. Honestly, dh and I never even really considered sending the kids to school.

[LookMommy!]

Daily. My dc (13,10,6) are in school after 3 years of HS. My dh never supported me, I wasn't up to level in Jewish studies, and my kids were left out socially (they had friends, but basically children of my friends). I left them alone for several hours each week (with the TV to babysit) so I could make money on the side (tutoring at home, or teaching out of the house). The middle one with PDD wasn't thriving at home. They didn't get along, and they seemed bored. They are now happy in school, are in a supportive system, and have very little homework. They have tons of friends. DS gets amazing therapies. They are confident in Hebrew. I have more time for my self and my interests. Of course, I have less time with them, and they are exposed to things which I do not always approve of. They are not in PS, but they are in "institutions".

I still berate myself every single day for not making it work, and for not giving them the "gift" of homeschool. I have a Ph.D. in educational psychology, and I feel like a failure that they needed something other than what I could give. Not to mention the guilt I feel for their deficiencies, now that they are in school and not #1 in the class.

We had a lot of good times over the 3 years, but maybe it was more for me than for them. It was a learning experience for sure. I know how you feel.

[MtnCanary]

Nope, no struggles here. We homeschool, and our daughter is thriving.

[OTMomma]

My dd will be old enough for K in the fall- and we have debated the issue a lot. I live in an area where there are a lot of homeschoolers- so finding resources and friends to homeschool with here isn't as hard as it would be elsewhere. There are specific problems I have with public school- no child left behind sucks, for example, and private is way too expensive for us this year. I know my dd and I feel strongly that she wouldn't get to reach her full potential in the local public school K program. I wish daily that there was another option for her- but I've decided that homeschooling is the right choice for now. I often wonder if it will still be the right choice for later grades, but all I can do is take it one year at a time.

[sparklefairy]

Yes, and it took me most of 1st grade to realize that she was in a great school with a great teacher and I needed to relax!

I'm very worried about junior high but we have a few more years on that.

[RedWine]

Originally Posted by LookMommy!

Daily. My dc (13,10,6) are in school after 3 years of HS. My dh never supported me, I wasn't up to level in Jewish studies, and my kids were left out socially (they had friends, but basically children of my friends). I left them alone for several hours each week (with the TV to babysit) so I could make money on the side (tutoring at home, or teaching out of the house). The middle one with PDD wasn't thriving at home. They didn't get along, and they seemed bored. They are now happy in school, are in a supportive system, and have very little homework. They have tons of friends. DS gets amazing therapies. They are confident in Hebrew. I have more time for my self and my interests. Of course, I have less time with them, and they are exposed to things which I do not always approve of. They are not in PS, but they are in "institutions".

I still berate myself every single day for not making it work, and for not giving them the "gift" of homeschool. I have a Ph.D. in educational psychology, and I feel like a failure that they needed something other than what I could give. Not to mention the guilt I feel for their deficiencies, now that they are in school and not #1 in the class.

We had a lot of good times over the 3 years, but maybe it was more for me than for them. It was a learning experience for sure. I know how you feel.

Hey, it sounds like you did what was best for your family. I don't think any one situation is the ideal for each and every family.

[RubyWild]

We planned to homeschool, but then our lives changed dramatically and at the same time we had the opportunity to put our daughter into an excellent private school. She is very happy there and truly thriving, but I would not have wanted to put her into the public schools where we are.

[Einen]

We're committed to homeschooling for the long run. I've already started with dd. But, I do find myself stressing about how I'm ever going to keep up with the house AND school a whole bunch of kids.