5th grade was the year I started hating school. While there were a few moments of joy (my high school art classes, AP English, summer break) college and time outside of school to delve into my interests gave me my love of learning. School mostly took it away. I became a teacher because I know what years of struggling in school, both academically and emotionally, look like. I watched my sister, and many of my friends have similar experiences. I heard my husband’s stories. I became a teacher because I wanted to help fix the school system and offer the kids I taught a different experience. It never once occurred to me to homeschool.

There were many things I loved about teaching, but around the time our second child was born, my energy started to shift. Trying to balance being the teacher I wanted to be with being the mother I wanted to be was impossible, and I was becoming less and less able to stomach everything else that came with teaching. Everything else looks like a system badly in need of change that asks too much of its teachers. I wanted to keep fighting, keep trying to make school better, but this voice in my head kept asking me how much I was willing and able to give.

Was it worth it? Was I willing to keep making the sacrifices teachers have to make? I spent more time with my students than I did my children. Nights and weekends were for grading or trying to figure out how to get my students interested, invested, and learning. My oldest, he was entering school, and I couldn’t help but go back to my experiences or look at how jaded so many of the kids I taught already were. I saw how excited Kindergarteners were to learn and what happened the more seatwork and tests entered their days. Yes, I knew plenty of great teachers who helped kids love to learn, but I knew a bunch who were tired too. Which ones would my kids get?

I felt stuck. Not knowing what to do, looking for inspiration, and probably trying to escape a little, I found solace online. I loved reading blogs about families who tried to live simply. These glimpses into another mom’s life were more than a distraction. They helped me think about what type of life I wanted. What type of life I could recreate.

The more I read, the more I discovered the writers I loved and resonated with most had one thing in common; they were homeschoolers. Amanda from Soule Mama, Heather from Beauty that Moves, Erin from Exhale, Return to Center, Jamie from Steady Mom (Simple Homeschooling) all wrote about the one option we’d never considered.

It took a few years and a lot of changes. Today, we’re four years into this unexpected journey, and I can tell you we would choose to start homeschooling over and over again. I am so grateful to the moms whose stories gave me a gentle push to give homeschooling a try.

Why Do We Homeschool

Homeschooling gives our family:

• Time together (a lot)

• Time to dive into our interests

• Time to learn at our own pace

• Time to work through our challenges

• Time to recharge

• Time to play

• Time to travel (offseason)

Time.

It was what I wanted more than anything when I was teaching. I wanted time with my children, and I wanted our family to have time to do the things we loved.

Our choice came with sacrifices as all choices do. I left a career I loved, our income changed, we had to find a new community, new friends, and when we started, we didn’t know anyone else (other than bloggers online) who were homeschooling. It was a little lonely at first. And it’s not easy. Homeschooling can come with plenty of its own challenges. But they are OUR challenges, not a system’s and that makes a huge difference.

Thankfully, there were blogs and online communities to help us get started, and who I continue to rely on over and over again.  There are so many wonderful homeschool mamas who share their stories and resources online.

Some of our favorites can be found below.

BookShark’s Blog

iHomeschool Network’s blog

Soule Mama

Beauty that Moves – Heather no long writes on this space but it has a treasure trove of resources

Simple Homeschool

If you asked me as a new teacher or a new mom if I would ever homeschool, I would have immediately said no. I didn’t think of homeschooling as an option.

It is an option, a good one for many of us, and it’s worth exploring. Maybe you’re in a place like I was; you’re looking for a change, feeling stuck, or you just want to make sure your kids love to learn. It can be daunting but we all have to begin somewhere. Start by reading, connecting with other homeschoolers, talking with your children, and partner, and most importantly be open to what you hear. It may not be a good time right now or ever or maybe it’s time to give something new a try.

Best of luck to you!

UPDATE- in 2018, after 4 1/2 years of homeschooling, my oldest decided to go to school for middle school. He very much wanted a larger peer group than our homeschool community could offer. Now in 2020, he chose to attend a large public high school. He continues to love to learn and is self-motivated to do well. Going to school is his choice. He can always return to homeschooling. My daughter tried school and found it was not a good fit. She says she will be a life-long homeschooler.