Do you like being a home school parent?

[foxbridgeacademy]

Love it. I love being home with my kids, I LOVE talking to them about everything, love teaching them. I'm an INTJ personality type so I especially love all the planning.  HSing for us is a way of life, I couldn't imagine sending my kids off to be educated and partially raised by people who don't know and love them deeply.  I think I could let go now, it's time but they're the ones who refuse to go.  They know how much busy work H.S. entails, that they will learn more in less time at home, how much stupid peer pressure/bullying there is, and they want no part of it.  

[Arcadia]

... I used to joke, "She'll get a great education and I'll be an empty shell of a woman!" ha ha, only now I'm not so sure it was a joke.

 

Really hoping I will recover some of my former self soon...

It took a year (2014/15) of outsourcing some subjects to recover my physical health. Lots of 6 miles walks while my kids were at classes. My mental health was affected not only by homeschooling but also from long term insomnia. So now I am finally able to work out calculus problems without feeling mentally half awake.

 

However I do suffer from pollen allergy which has nothing to do with homeschooling. I used to sneeze until I have a red nose outside the public school when getting my oldest. Now I sneeze near the library and the park. Makes me incoherent sometimes :P

[J-rap]

My kids are done, but I absolutely loved being a homeschool parent, every single day.  I loved it even more as they got older.  And when we had our big family crisis, we were able to move forward regarding that in large part because we were homeschooling and flexible, something that I of course had not anticipated at all as a plus of homeschooling.

[Night Elf]

We homeschooled about 15 years and I would absolutely do it again. I loved spending so much time with my children. I loved learning alongside them. Even with them all being young adults now, we're still close. With DH's help, and even the kids at times, I was able to pursue a couple of things I really wanted to do, so I never felt stuck at home. I don't feel my life was put on hold. I'll always consider these years with my kids as golden years. I hope my retirement years with DH are as great.

[RKWAcademy]

No, I don't like being a homeschool mom.  I just keep reminding myself that I'm not doing it for myself.  It's what is best for the kids right now.  And, it does have some benefits that I enjoy.  I don't regret our decision, but we will continue to reevaluate every year to make sure this is still best for them. 

Edited June 16, 2016 by RKWAcademy

[LMD]

I like it mostly. However it has been more difficult than expected. Part of that is craziness of life intruding... if we had a stable house (moving and building) and stable routine (jobs and rotating shifts) it would be infinitely easier.

But then, dh and I don't ever do things the easy way.

 

Probably a bad month for me to answer this question.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Most of the time, yes.  Like anything else, it has its "moments". 

 

 

[madteaparty]

nm

Edited June 17, 2016 by madteaparty

[elegantlion]

Yes, I liked being a homeschooling parent. Looking back, I probably should have been working part-time at least for some of the years, but there are many reasons why I did not. 

 

I've always wanted to do something that mattered in the long term. Housework, cooking, things that must be done over and over with no long-term benefits make me feel like I'm invisible. I know a clean house and a fed family have good benefits, but it's not like writing a book that someone can pick up in 100 years. 

 

Getting ds through his high school years feels long-term to me. I'm seeing the fruits of his being able to grow at his own pace,learn at his own pace, and become his own person without feeling squashed by anyone. He's himself, who he would have always been (hopefully), but he's confident in his being. 

 

There were things about being a homeschooling parent that I didn't like such as assumptions about homeschooling an only child, assumptions about how he could handle college (yes, I'm talking about you, relative o'mine), and assumptions about what we teach or don't teach. 

 

 

[marbel]

I mostly like it. I do wish my kids were go-getters. They're not. They are the way I was when I was young. Over many years I learned how to buckle down and get things done, but I did not learn that until my mid-20s. When I was their age, I was content to stay home reading books all day. They are content to stay home and play on their ipads all day.

 

If they had a bit more go-getter in them, homeschooling would be a dream. I like everything about being a homeschool parent except: a. the heavy weight of making sure all my ducks are in a row now that we are entering high school and b. the fact that I often feel like I am dragging the kids behind me because they would rather be playing. I am sure it is a problem that many people have and no one is shocked that kids would rather play than do school.

 

This is pretty much the same for me.  My kids were never self-starters, though they both do love to learn, but only on their terms and only the things they like.

 

Having one with LDs and other issues, including 3 years of sickness, has made it difficult.  Having one with no apparent LDs but very strong leanings in one way and a very strong will have made it difficult too.  I don't like the pressure of high school.  I don't like being the counselor and trying to figure out college stuff.  Even reading up on it (such as Lee Binz, Home Scholar) I feel ill-equipped and doing a lousy job.   

 

In some ways my enjoyment of homeschooling is dependent on what's going on:  when I'm worried about money, I regret quitting work 18 years ago.  When I'm worried about math, I regret not spending the money on tutors 5 years ago.  When I'm worried that my kids don't have enough friends, I regret not sending them to school or into sports or other places they could meet peers.

 

On the other hand... the one with LDs really needed me and we would never have managed "regular" high school during the years of sickness.  The one with strong leanings was able to follow that muse.  They can both operate pretty well in the adult world so in a few years it won't matter that they don't have friends their exact ages. 

 

So, apparently, I can't answer the question.  :-) 

 

I did love it in the elementary years and middle school years.  Loved being able to be flexible with time, loved reading great books with them... I used to say I wished I could give them a great education by just reading to and with them.   If they could have learned math by just reading about it... if they  never had to write anything... ah, homeschooling would have been wonderful.

 

 

 

 

 

[4arrows]

In many ways I've liked it better than I thought I would, especially since I'd never planned on homeschooling!  As we get close to the end of our homeschooling days, though, I do look forward to moving on to something else in my life.  What that will be remains up in the air.

[Anne in CA]

 I was a home school mom for 16 years, 17 if you count the year we did TPS online. I loved it and would do it again. That doesn't mean there weren't downsides. I had a great job where I worked part time and was able to keep up workforce skills. Life now would be bad without those skills, so I'm glad I worked part time. The biggest downside would be the lost income, but I did the math and chose to home school anyway.

 

The time with my kids was great, and they all have such a better education than they EVER could have gotten at public school where we lived that I feel very good about that decision.

[SunshineMom]

I enjoy homeschooling if I have time to develop my own interest lead skills and opportunities.

[BooksandBoys]

I absolutely love being a homeschooling parent. I don't like being a SAH parent. I love teaching them, reading to them, learning with them, discussing it all, watching them discover, and planning it all (INTJ), but I really struggle with not having a break from them or enough time to use my mind on non-school topics. I want to be a working homeschooling parent (with hired child care/housecleaning so I'm not just cramming more into my already bursting life) and, once we get through this move, I intend to make that happen.