Are you thinking about homeschooling or have you decided to take that leap but are completely overwhelmed about what to do next? I was terrified when I first decided to try homeschooling with my oldest when she was in kindergarten. There was something in me telling me I could figure it out and I know that you can too. Here are a couple of things that helped me manage those initial doubts.
To begin, I needed to identify what my fears were in order to address them. The idea of homeschooling my children was initially so overwhelming that I would wake up in the middle of the night wondering if I was making a terrible mistake . How will they get into college? What if I miss a crucial skill area? I decided to step back and reframe my thoughts based on what was true. Could my children return to public school at any time? Yes, my children could enter public school at any time. How will I keep myself from becoming burnt out? I quickly learned to stop thinking about the next twelve years and focus on one year at a time. So now, I take each year as a single unit and reevaluate each spring with my children about what they would like to do the following year and only then commit to a plan for the following academic year.
My second large fear was my children not having ample opportunities to be around other children during the “school” day. Have you ever not noticed something until you needed it and then you start noticing it everywhere? Once I had started homeschooling, I quickly discovered that there is a large local homeschooling community and there are homeschoolers everywhere. I found homeschool co-ops and classes, meet ups and playdates in the local museums, science centers, martial arts centers, ice skating, music programs, math team, robotics club, forest school, on farms, in parks and in people’s homes and yards. There was a large community just waiting for us with open arms and now I welcome you. Big hugs, you got this.
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