Quick question: do you think homeschooling is hard?

[ServantofGod]

I'm working on an article and I wanted to feel this out a little Do you think homeschooling is hard? Feel free to expand on your answer. Thanks! :heart

[deena]

Well it's not easy, but often times I think that public schooling is just as hard in other ways... transporting them to and from, signing all the papers, meeting with teachers, packing lunches and the biggie: HOMEWORK which ends up being as much work as homeschooling in the end!!!!

[CelticJourney]

For the kids or the parents?

I think the children learn more in an easier way without all the social/emotional baggage that comes with PSing.

[allisonintx]

Is homeschooling hard?

When my children were in a Charter school, they had 1-2 hours of homework every night starting in kindergarden. We now do all of our schooling in the amount of time it took us just to do homework, so in that regard it is much easier, because it is no more work for me than doing homework ever was on a daily basis when they were in school, and I get all that bonus time with the children that they were spending in the school building.

What is harder is finding balance when you start, because everyone is home all day, every day. That means breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner and sometimes more snack at home every day to plan. It means my house has all the mess of schooling, living and working in one place, and requires much more maintainance.

Choosing curriculum can be a difficult decision, because no two children learn exactly the same way, so a curriculum that is perfect for one child will be awful for another, and the curriculum evaluation is ongoing which is time consuming and weighs on me a bit emotionally and spiritually, always wanting the thing that is 'just right' for each child, but it is also quite enjoyable intellectually and helps keep me sharp and watchful for what works for each child. It also reminds me that the way I think is not the only right way! There are lots of right ways and I'm learning and stretching my own brain all the time too.

[cobluegirl]

I think it can be because I have to be more involved with their education that if they were in public school(not that I wouldn't be involved at all there), however for them I think they have it easy comparitivly. We can get school done in 1-2 hrs instead of 6 and we can follow things we are interested. I have good days and I have bad days.

[Mamatoto]

I don't think homeschooling is hard at all. Working past my own temperamental issues and style with homeschooling can be an extreme test. :yes

[Leslie]

I think it can be hard, the day to day routine of school has to be kept up with whether you feel like it or not because, if you let it go, you don't just end up with dust bunnies, you could end up with a child who hasn't done any math in 3 months. It can seem harder if you're a person who's always second-guessing and doubting yourself--the stress of wondering whether your child is keeping up, and continually switching curriculums because you're not sure what you're using is working can be very difficult.

Then again, any involved parenting is going to be hard. I see public school parents who spend as much time and effort in homework, teacher's aid, helping on field trips/sports/cafeteria as I do teaching my kids at home.

[ServantofGod]

Thank you...keep it coming. I just wanted to clarify I meant specifically hard for the mother.

[blessedmama]

One of the main challenges for me is balancing attention between the 2 older ones (in school) and my 3 preschool-aged kids. I am always wondering if my little ones are getting shortchanged; although they're with me all day, they certainly don't get the same "quality" time from me that the older ones did at their age.

Another challenge for me is being "mom" and "teacher" at the same time. My dh works long hours, even on weekends, and teaching/mothering does get physically and emotionally draining at times.

On the other hand, I wouldn't trade it for the world! We've had sooo many great heart-to-heart discussions, and I've been able to fully participate in my dc's lives in a way that I wouldn't if they went to school.

[CelticJourney]

I just wanted to clarify I meant specifically hard for the mother.

That depends on your support and your attitude. Every now and then God blesses me with a cold, wet winter morning where I get up early with the baby just in time to see the neighbor children shuffling off to school in the dark - it's a breeze that day! There are days when you run into walls - say with a subject your child doesn't like and has a hard time with it. But those are the days you remind yourself that they are a class of 1 and you can change the approach, change the schedule, the lessons, whatever to find a way to make it work.

Emotionally and schedule-wise it would be MUCH harder for me if my children went away to school.

[Iarwain]

I think it's very easy and very hard at the same time.

It's easy because it's the most natural thing in the world to enjoy learning with your children. It's easy to have the freedom to go and do things on your own schedule and not be locked in to the school calender. It's easy to know your child and see their needs. IMO it makes it easier to impart certain things to them because you're with them all day. It's easier to teach or explore something in your own way than to have to help them through a set school curriculum that may or may not suit your child well.

It's hard to have the responsibility completely on your shoulders. It's hard to not have the option of those few hours of quiet during the day that mothers of school children can have. It's hard to know that you're doing the best possible for your child's education because as mothers we will always second guess ourselves. It's VERY hard to keep a house clean when there's people in it all day long!

I think that it can be even more difficult for families that try to do too strict of a school-at-home routine. There may be some that are well-suited to that kind of setup, but you hear about homeschool burnout often enough to know that it can happen. Choosing a schooling style that works well for the children, and most especially the mother's personality makes it much easier. Trying to fit your family into some preformed idea of what homeschooling "should" look like is going to make it much more difficult and create stresses that don't need to be there. In that case I think homeschooling can become very difficult, but when a family finds the groove that fits their individual needs it is much easier.

[booboo]

I can't say totally yes or no. Both of my kids have special needs and that makes it difficult plus the fact I don't have much support. My 8 yo has Asperger's and she is my *star student*, always wanting to learn but some days just not wanting to do the work if she "disagrees" with the instructions. I've had my days where I've spent more time outside to keep myself from doing damage than inside. (that doesn't happen too often)

I'd like to take the kids outside in the yard more but now that it's spring, we have a double wide yard. People in NJ (where I live) can be so rude, choosing to do U-turns in my driveway, sometimes not even taking into account there are 2 kids running around. Piglet has no sense of safety and she won't even notice a strange car there which totally freaks me out. (we're working on a solution) So much for getting their exercise...(phys ed) I'm still praying to get out of NJ.

Don't get me wrong, they are great kids and there are moments where they amaze me! And I don't regret choosing to homeschool. In spite of all this, they are definitely worth it all.

[ArmsOfLove]

I don't think homeschooling is hard at all. Working past my own temperamental issues and style with homeschooling can be an extreme test. :yes
ditto

[Maggie]

Interesting question. One thing a few people have said to me (my mom, for one) is "Wow, I would think that would be really hard. I don't think I could do it!" or "I thought about homeschooling, but I knew how hard it would be and how much effort it would entail and I didn't think I could do it." Honestly, if I thought that homeschooling was going to be really hard or be a huge effort, I would be a lot more nervous and less enthusiastic about it. I agree with Iarwain that people with a more school-at-home approach will find it more difficult and time-consuming than those who have a more relaxed approach and unschoolers. We will fall more into the latter groups.

[erinee]

Being a parent is hard, no matter what method of schooling you choose. Having done both, for me both are hard, and each is easier in some way.

Zach has very little homework, and he's in third grade. Most nights he doesn't have any at all, when he does it takes him maybe 20 minutes, tops. :shrug I guess it depends on the teacher.

For me, the hard thing about homeschooling is having everything on my shoulders. I felt like I barely had time to breathe. Add to that that I am an extreme introvert with kids who are extreme extroverts.....having them around all the time is very hard on me. I can't change that about myself, I can accept it and embrace it, but it's not going to be any less hard.

What's hard about public school is dealing with adminstration, not knowing what's going on, getting one story from your child and another from the teacher, having your child bullied, worrying about the influence of other kids, and finding time as a family.

This is what's made this decision so very hard for me. I truly see positives and negatives about both, and I have a hard time truly embracing either option. I do think the virtual school will take enough of the burden off my shoulders that it will make having my kids home much easier on me.

[illinoismommy]

:popcorn

[SueQ]

I love homeschooling as do the boys. Homeschooling isn't hard at all for us and actually comes rather naturally. The hard part is sibling conflicts and normal childhood behavior which I'd be dealing with whether or not I homeschool. I am just dealing with it all day since I homeschool rather than the few hours a day that I'd have if I sent them to school. ;)

[marathonmom]

I love homeschooling as do the boys. Homeschooling isn't hard at all for us and actually comes rather naturally. The hard part is sibling conflicts and normal childhood behavior which I'd be dealing with whether or not I homeschool. I am just dealing with it all day since I homeschool rather than the few hours a day that I'd have if I sent them to school. ;)


Yeah, that.

And keeping the house clean.

We have 5 weeks to go and then a break! :woohoo

[birthchic]

I'm working on an article and I wanted to feel this out a little Do you think homeschooling is hard? Feel free to expand on your answer. Thanks! :heart
I find homeschooling extraordinarily difficult. The academic aspect is not a problem for me, but rather just the fact that my kids are all home all day long. It requires a lot out of me to try to be fully present to them. I am not a "natural" mother the way some women are-- motherhood is something at which I really must work.

[erinee]

I'm working on an article and I wanted to feel this out a little Do you think homeschooling is hard? Feel free to expand on your answer. Thanks! :heart
I find homeschooling extraordinarily difficult. The academic aspect is not a problem for me, but rather just the fact that my kids are all home all day long. It requires a lot out of me to try to be fully present to them. I am not a "natural" mother the way some women are-- motherhood is something at which I really must work.


ITU all of that. It's what worries me most about going back to homeschooling in the fall.