About
Confession: I was a reluctant homeschool mama.
Let me know if this sounds a little bit like you, okay?
As a young mom, I had ZERO desire to homeschool my kids. In fact, I often told people that homeschooling was something I would never do.
After all, I had plenty of good reasons not to homeschool:
- I wanted my kids to have a social life
- Public school teachers are specifically trained to teach kids – and I didn’t go to college for that
- I wanted to enjoy my younger kids’ baby and toddler years while the older kids were at public school
- My kids would miss out on so many of the fun things that I loved about public school, like class parties and field trips
- I wanted time to maintain my household chores and routines, go to lunch with friends from time to time, and stay “organized”
Ouch. Maybe those reasons make me sound selfish (and I worried about that years ago too), but just like everything else you’ll ever read on here at The Reluctant Homeschool Mama, it is the honest truth.
Why I started homeschooling
My oldest son went to public school, just as I always assumed he would.
He loved kindergarten and first grade, made some friends, and excelled academically.
But then towards the middle of first grade my son started coming home from school feeling really frustrated. He wanted to read his Titanic book, but the class had to practice lining up or put their heads on their desks.
I started going to the school library with him and I realized we were heading for trouble.
None of the second-grade teachers would be a good fit for me.
I knew we were heading for trouble. None of the teachers seemed like a great fit for him. He’d tested into the gifted and talented program in kindergarten, but there would be no resources available to him other than “extra worksheets” until third grade.
Yikes.
I talked to my husband about possibly homeschooling and after a few weeks of talking it over, choosing curriculum, and figuring out when I’d grocery shop (this was way before grocery pickup!), my hubs agreed.
Before we were ready to completely commit, I decided to put our decision to the test:
I asked five public school teachers who were friends of mine what they thought about our decision to homeschool.
Here’s the crazy thing: ALL five of them said WE SHOULD DO IT.
With the green light and their encouragement, I got started collecting and reviewing curriculum.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Well, not really – because I’m going to share everything I’ve learned about homeschooling my five kids over the past eight years right here with you!
My Core Beliefs about Homeschooling
You ARE qualified to teach your kids
No one on this earth loves your kids the way you do. While you may not have a college teaching degree, your ability to think, read, write, and LEARN for yourself is everything you need to begin your homeschool journey.
Homeschooling is the best way to tailor your child's education
The opportunity to choose curriculum, field trips, and a daily routine based on your child's learning style and personality cannot be replicated as well anywhere else other than in your homeschool.
You don't have to homeschool to be a good mom
I just need to get it out there that I don't expect every mom to be a homeschooling mama. And that's okay. You can be a great mom and send your kids to school. So let's all accept this fact right now, okay?
Before you go, I want to invite you to join my e-mail newsletter community.
By signing up, you’ll get free access to the Resource Library that contains tons of great printables and downloads to help you organize your homeschool.
Things like homeschool unit study planners, individual weekly assignment sheets, parent-student conference sheets, curriculum planners, and more are all there waiting for you!
