For the long haul

Keep homeschooling through highschool, it is so beneficial and you and your husband are the ones who make the best choices for your family, not outsiders.  Do not worry, we cannot please everyone, and as I am now coming to the last years of our journey, I am convinced it is the best way to help them grow into well adjusted, educated, Godly adults.  Keep your smile in the face of criticism and keep on going – you won’t be sorry.  Blessings Linda

Oh yes, long haul here too! Big HUGS to you! You’re not alone!

~ heather

ETA:  Sorry to keep lumping you in with the Ladies, Doug.  Your advice has been invaluable, too!  I guess you are used to it by now, though, huh?

No problem at all. I know it would take a lot more words to include me so I don’t mind. Here’s a fun story…

When we first started this forum I felt kind of funny posting. As part of the SCM team, I was always here maintaining things and seeing the conversations. But I didn’t jump in because I wasn’t sure if it would be welcome. I pictured myself as the husband banished to the garage while my wife hosted a baby shower in the house. I’d really like to come in and get a snack but I’d have to face 15 women discussing child birth.

Anyway, I used to tell Karen and Sonya they should answer such and such topic or should mention this or that point. After a while they convinced me to start posting and that you all wouldn’t mind. You’ve all been so kind and welcoming that I don’t even think about it anymore. Well, except maybe when I have to post in the “Mom’s Porch” topic.

Okay, I don’t want to hijack this thread so let me come back around to some more thoughts on homeschooling through high school.

Psalm 1:1-2 says “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

In other words, there is blessing if we wisely choose those we spend time with, get advice from, and are mentored by. This truth doesn’t apply only to our little ones. It applies to all of us, including our kids in upper grades and us as adults.

Now, you will not hear me say things along the lines of “God has called my family to homeschool.” God speaks to us through His Word and there is no “thou shalt homeschool” command to be found in the scriptures. Even the psalm I just quoted isn’t a command but rather a principle and a truth. However, homeschooling has given us the means to apply these principles that bring blessing. That’s why we never even considered a different path for educating our older students.

Just want to pipe in a say, my parents and my husbands parents home schooled us all 12 years, and we are SOOOO grateful. It worked out very well, and we are planning on homeschooling our children all the way too.

Even though my mom didn’t do as good of a job schooling me as I would have liked, I still feel that the time at home was extremely beneficial. I may not have been taught enough geography, but I learned HOW to learn on my own. Even with the “gaps” in my education, I knew I was loved. I learned so much about life that would never have been taught in a class room.

My mother-in-law on the other hand, did an excellent job home schooling her 3 (all graduated) children. One is a successful business owner/software developer. One is pursuing writing and doing well at it. And the youngest is a professional organizer, who is courting and not good for much the moment (being love struck and all), but was a stable person and an asset to the community. 😉 

When we count our blessings, we always include being home schooled as one of them.

As a parent that was determined to send her kids to ps to have a normal upbringing (unlike my husband’s and mine) with supportive parents along the way, I can say without a doubt that I’m grateful to be a hsing family and in for the long haul.

I don’t know that I feel called or not, but I definitely believe those that feel that they have been.  My experience came after my oldest had been going to ps for 2 years.   I just felt the most disconnect from him at the most important time of his life and I knew that God has said there are other options.  I did trust that revelation and my husband was at a point where he was more than willing to check it out.  Prior to that his only perception of hsing was not up to his standards:)  I promised I would do things differently.  Don’t know if that has actually transpired, but I’m still working on it and he is happy with the outcome so far.

I don’t like to tell people that I feel called mostly because I had family that was trying to shove their self-righteous attitudes down my throat and I was choking.  I received books, suggestions, offers to hs my kids, etc. and it was a real turn off.  I felt that they felt that I was NOT listening to God for our family and that somehow they were just in a higher spiritual level than myself, not a good feeling.  Guilt is not a good motivator. 

Fast forward almost 4 years and we’re still hsing.  I love it and strive to do better each day/week/month/year. I want to hs through high school, but realize things change, so I’m trying to prepare my kids for whatever the future may hold.

My last thought is this:  I find it soooooo incredibly interesting!!!  If I was missing out on all of what hsing offers (even for the adult) I would be so sad and disappointed!  Yes, it has its challenges, and, yes, it has those pulling-your-hair-one-by-one-would-feel-better-than-this days, but I would not trade it for anything.  I just try to take what didn’t work yesterday as a lesson to do things different the next day.  And, because I’m the adult, I can do that, or at least try. Plus, it’s usually poor planning on my part or something like that that makes or breaks a day.

 Okay, so that wasn’t my last thought…

We are in this for the long haul.  And, when people ask about high school I just say “It’s just too interesting to give up now and will probably be more interesting then”.