Why we decided to homeschool | Our homeschool journey

When we had our first little one, I thought on and off about options for school pretty early on, but I didn’t really start looking into all options until she was about four years old.  

Suddenly it hit me….. “we have to figure this out.”

- cue all the research mode -  

At the time, we lived in Las Vegas, and I didn’t really want to put her in public school. Nothing against public school, in fact, I attended public school throughout my school years, but there was something that was just holding me back.

I started looking into the options we had, and two jumped out at me: 

• Private School - Too expensive

• Montessori School - Too Far & Too Expensive 

I’m totally a pro, and cons kind of person and dang…. the cons were far outweighing the pros:

Pros: Good Education. She gets to be around other kids more, I get a small “break” between drop off & pick up times.

Cons: Too Expensive, Long Drives for Drop off and Pick up, Can’t travel whenever we want, 6-7 hour long days for a five-year-old, I miss out of seeing her learn and do new things

I could see the benefits, but for some reason, something was tugging at me that this wasn’t the right decision right now….., which led me to research the option of homeschool.

Homeschool was always intriguing to me, but I honestly didn’t know if I would be cut out for it. But, like many things I looked at the pro and cons and then it was clear to me that even though I wasn’t entirely confident, I would certainly try because it aligned with how we wanted to live:

Pros:  Freedom for us to travel whenever we want, education crafted to what works best for her, I get to see her learn and grow even more, “school” can be done within a few hours on most days, more time for her to pursue her own interests while still having time to be a kid.

Cons:  Adds some more to my to-do list, isn’t around more kids as often

…..It was clear to me, at least for now, homeschool was the best option for our family.

No, my decision was not because I wanted to shelter her or that I wasn’t ready to “let her go” (mamas are never prepared for their kids to grow up so fast.) It was based on which option worked for us right not, aligns with priorities in our life and the kind of life we want to live…… Homeschool was the one that just fit.

We are now in our 3rd year homeschooling! I won’t lie, it’s not always easy…. some days are smooth sailing and some days we are just barely making it through our work, but as for right now it works great for our family, and I cherish the extra moments I get with my girl while she is still little.