My Journey to Homeschooling

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your front door.  You step into the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."  The Fellowship of the Ring J.R.R. Tolkien

I was once challenged with this idea; open the door to homeschooling and take a step.  Although homeschooling isn't exactly the same as plodding around Middle Earth, it definitely does have its adventures.  However, adventure wasn't exactly my original thought.  Initially my thoughts were more along the lines of, "You must be crazy" when my husband first brought up the topic during our engagement.  Experiencing both homeschooling and public school he tried to reassure me with, "my mom was my best teacher."  But it really wasn't enough to curtail visions of my children as jobless, social misfits.  All because mom decided to keep them home; yet couldn't figure out how to get little Johnny to sound out "cat"

"Consider it" he said.  "You really are insane" I said.  But reluctantly, I agreed to consider his request.  The door was open.

As the years rolled on, I was surrounded by friends who were passionate about homeschooling.  The more conversations I had with them, the more it became evident that this was a direction God was leading me.  Yet I still thought it was a nutty idea.

Then children came along.  They have an effect on how you see things.

Staying home with them gave me the time to do activities with them, so I did.  Next thing I know my oldest turns three; then I heard the preschool questions from others.  When?  Where?  But I had my own questions.  What's the rush?  Why would I send him away to do all that fun stuff, when we're already doing it at home?  Then the wheels started turning.

Do I really want to send my child away for schooling?  Can I really homeschool my child?

I happened to be at a friend's house asking about the homeschool program she used.  She gave me some information and invited me to an open house to see what it was like.  Because my son was not yet four, I really didn't think I would get involved.  But I went anyway.  I took one look at this program and I was sold.  I saw my son in the class and I knew immediately, "this is the quality I want for my children's education."  Right away, I saw the long term benefits that this program would bring for my children.  Not just learning something for right now, but immersing them in a system of learning so that they can use that knowledge as adults.

So, in the blink of an eye, I took that first step and I was homeschooling.

After homeschooling for just a few years, I love it.  Oh, I don't love every single day; trust me there's plenty of challenges to make me wonder if it's really worth it.  However, the conversations I have with my children in the middle of the day regardless of lesson content are priceless, and I wouldn't have that if someone else were teaching them.  These teaching moments spin off the events of the day, and I'm right there to be the one to converse with the children concerning these topics.  I don't think there's any school or teacher in the world who can replace that.

Now that I've been swept off into the adventure of homeschooling, I find there are many daily challenges that stir doubt.  But as my friend once said, "Homeschooling is the most challenging thing I've ever done, but the most rewarding thing I've ever done."  I completely agree; and at the end of the day I can breathe a sigh of relief and say...it's worth it.

Please note that Anchored In His Grace has moved to a new web address.  www.carolinenixonsblog.com