The Best Decision

If you are one of the folks trying to decide where to send your children to school this year, I want to tell you something:

There is good and bad in any decision.

Don't let the bad stuff make you think you've made a "wrong" decision. If you have approached the decision carefully, with prayer, and in harmony with your spouse, then you have made the best decision you could.

As parents, we are charged with the responsibility of training our children. That doesn't mean we can't let others help teach them. Even though we homeschool, we have relied on both math tutors and therapists to assist us in recent years. But we are responsible for making sure we choose the best folks we can to influence our children. The ultimate responsibility for these kiddos is still ours.

So if you have decided that your local school is the very best situation for your child, then good for you! There are good schools still out there. I worked in one many years ago.

If, after much prayer and discussion, you absolutely do not have peace sending your child anywhere, then perhaps homeschooling is for you.

Here are some quick facts for you:

• Homeschooling is legal in all 50 states of the U.S.
• Each state has it's own requirements that must be met. Some states, like Texas, make it very easy for homeschool families. Other states have more hoops for you to jump through.
• Here is a link to all the state homeschool laws. 
• There are Facebook groups for everything these days. Find a homeschool group near you. You can also look on this site to find a physical group to be involved with. 
• Curriculum can be purchased online quite easily. Choosing might be harder! We have so many, many choices available today. You can choose a boxed set (buy a "fourth grade kit") or you can pick and choose each subject. I will be happy to help you wade through the curriculum choices. Just shoot me an email at projectfamily5@gmail.com and I will be glad to help with any questions you might have. 
• Yes, some folks work full-time and homeschool. How, you might ask? Well, it works well if your kids are older and can be home alone and get some work done while you are gone. Then in the evenings you can work on other subjects together. Some folks also have grandparents who help out with the homeschooling. It doesn't take NEARLY as much time to homeschool as it does to go to school. In the younger years of elementary, 1-3 hours a day is plenty. Really. 
• Don't forget that school doesn't have to happen between the hours of 8-3 on Monday through Friday. You can "do school" anytime. Anywhere. It's so hard to break out of our public school mentality, but it really is OK to do school work on a Saturday. Or in the evenings. Work around your family's schedule! 
• For most families, I believe homeschool is freedom. When your life is no longer run by the public school calendar, you find out there is a lot to enjoy together and you have more time together. And *gasp* there is more to life than school!

I hope you can make a decision your family is at peace with for this school year. If you choose homeschooling, I hope I can be of assistance to you. 

As for us, we start back tomorrow. So I have a lot of things to do to get ready! 

Signing off,