In what ways has homeschool ...regrets

[Lux Et Veritas Academy]

In what ways has homeschool changed you for the better? Do you have any regrets?

[Kim in SouthGa]

It has made me more patient and allowed me to be closer to my children. It has made me appreciate and understand their quirks (most of the time;)). It has led me to love knowledge and learn so much more than I did when I was the student. It has caused me to step outside my comfort zone and learn/teach things I would not have chosen on my own, but my kids really want to learn. It has caused me to be more organized and to take the initiative when I need information instead of waiting for someone to hand it to me.

 

The only regret I have is that I switched curriculum so much on my first child and caused him to be slightly behind where I feel he should be for his age. I plan to HS all the way through to the end.

[Kim in Appalachia]

Probably the biggest had to do with my relationship with my children. I tend to be withdrawn, and if they were in school full time, plus involved in other activities, it would be easy for me to just be there without being really intune with them, kwim? I could easily slip into an almost cardboard mom role, all surface and no substance.

 

I also think I've become more patient and understanding because of homeschooling. Many parents grow in that way whether homeschooling or not, but I think I needed to homeschool to learn some of things I've learned.

 

My biggest regret also has to do with curriculum. I so much wanted to give my kids a certain kind of education that I neglected (especially with the oldest) to use what works best for them. I've been working on that, and it has made our homeschool a better place.

[Greta]

Homeschooling has made me a better parent. I have learned (okay, I am still learning!) to be more patient and more tuned in to her needs. I think I have a deeper appreciation for her as an individual because of the homeschooling journey we have shared. It has brought us closer.

 

I certainly have no regrets in terms of my decision to homeschool. I haven't done everything perfectly along the way, and sometimes worry if she would be better off if I had done (fill in the blank). But overall, I KNOW she is better off than she would have been in public school, so I just try to focus on the bright side.

[Alphabetika]

My only regret is that I sent my dd to kindie and 1st grade when in my heart I wanted to homeschool and "knew" she'd do better at home. But, in an odd way, I regret it for her sake but I'm not sorry we did it because God used that time and the experiences we had to show me I needed to go with my gut re: her education. Partly as a result of this, we have never sent dd#2 to school and we've all been the better for it.

 

Homeschooling is changing me for the better in the areas of: self-education, self-discipline, diligence, spiritual maturity, patience, pure love for my children and thankfulness to dh for working hard so I can stay home with them, and general fascination with life and the world.

[Sasharowan]

Homeschooling has caused me to become more confident. Before, I would not talk to strangers because I "knew" they wanted nothing to do with me. Taking kids to parks and storytimes and such has taught me that it never hurts to say Hi and ask about their kids. 2 of my best friends were met at story times for our kids.

[FourOaks]

I would DITTO everything that Kim in SouthGA said and add a couple more:

 

Another good thing because of homeschooling -- I think I appreciate my kids even more and desire to be with them more. It's weird because so many days they are behaving terribly, argumentative, not doing what I ask, etc. But still, I WANT to be around them!! I know SO MANY parents who send their kids off to preschool, then school and onto extracirricular activities who don't WANT to be around their kids. I can't tell you how many parents have said regarding their kids being on a short break from school or summer vacation, "I can't wait for them to go back to school. They drive me crazy and we just need to be away from each other!" When I'm away from my kids (like this weekend when I go to convention), I will truly MISS them and look forward to getting back home to them.

 

Not so good -- I have lost a lot of my productiveness throughout the years. I am great at working on schedules and meeting deadlines, but since I don't have any to meet anymore, I waste a LOT of time. I am not REQUIRED to get out of bed on the majority of days, I don't have to punch a time clock or submit plans or projects by any given date, I have all day to clean the house so I put it off until the next day. . .the list goes on and on. That's not to say that I'm not involved in ministries, etc that do require these types of things from me, but when I am brutally honest with myself, I just am not productive like I SHOULD be on a daily basis.

[dangermom]

I am way more patient than I would be otherwise.

 

I also tend to be introverted, so maybe so much time with my kids makes me closer to them, as above.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

In what ways has homeschool changed you for the better? Do you have any regrets?

 

I love homeschooling and don't forsee an end to it. But I regret that I haven't gotten to know as many other women as I might if my kids were in classroom settings.

 

This is sort of unique to our situation. I expect that if we were living in the US, I might not know that many parents of my kids' classmates.

 

But in an overseas setting, especially a military base overseas, there are so many happenings that revolve around the chance meetings as people pick up their kids from school or stand around the playground chatting as their kids play after school.

 

I can especially sense this within scouting, where every other kid in a den is in class together. It wasn't nearly so much of an issue when we lived in Hawaii because people had their kids in so many different schools (private, homeschooled and public schools all over town with geographic exceptions) so not being in class together didn't control the boundaries of friendship within the neighborhood.

[Desert Rat]

My huge bonus is I'm finally learning history and love teaching it to my boys. I love to see their "ah-ha" moments. I love watching them learn and grow. Along with history, I've learned patience and strength, though I still have a long way to go!

The down side is that I'm not the best at making friends for myself and it's even harder for my kids. Our life during the day can be very isolating and sometimes we just all need a break from each other but don't really get it. Oh, and I'm loathing teaching math. :o)

[tricia]

I have no regrets. Loved every moment of it. How has it changed me though? I think in the beginning of having children I worried about loving them each and every moment but homeschooling has shown me that what GREAT love I can have for them. No more worries.:)

[Sebastian (a lady)]

When my kids were very young, I was able to put them into the child care room at the local YMCA.

 

Right now, it seems very difficult to fit gym time into my day. I was over at the base gym this afternoon trying to figure out if there were any programs that would allow my kids to be in one fitness class while I worked out or for me to work out along side them.

 

The only real answer they could come up with was for me to work in the padded room that has a couple cardio machines. They said that although the room is posted as for 5 year olds and younger, they allowed homeschoolers to use it too. However, since not even all the desk staff that was on during this conversation knew that this was an accepted policy, it sounds like something that would end up getting me harsh looks or even complaints (there are several complaints on the comments board about various child room issues - I don't want homeschoolers to be another topic to complain about).

 

There are ways around this like running up and down the sidewalk while my kids are on the playground. But I would put this into the category of things that are harder for homeschoolers than those with kids in school.

 

This is one reason I love visiting my inlaws. I can get to the gym every single morning to lift before the kids even have breakfast.

[Ibbygirl]

Like Kalah and her learning of history, I can say that I have greatly improved my own education through homeschooling my 11 year old daughter. I have been able to fill in gaps of things that were missing from my own education and make connections with things that I learned in Public School but didn't really get. I am learning things now teaching my daughter math that I had never learned before. It has been an amazing journey and I really enjoy learning right along side of her. I love the closeness and intimacy that my daughter and I share and I like that we can go at our own pace and not have to have the pressure and stress of tests and such. We really enjoy learning and take the time to wonder and discover things about the world around us. I also like that I have so much time to spend on our morning devotions. She went to a charter school for 3rd grade and that entire year I lamented how short our devotion times were in the morning before school. I really like being able to spend the time poring over the Scriptures with her and having discussions about what it means. She has taught me so much with her perspective and I like being able to see things through someone else's eyes. I really am grateful that I can homeschool and I hope to be able to continue to homeschool my daughter all the way up to college. :)

[kewb]

How have I changed for the better? Interesting question. I don't know. I don't know if the parent I am today is because we homeschool or not. I am happy to say that after being home with them this year I still like them and want to be with them. I find so many parents who seem, at least to me, to be in a hurry to get rid of their kids. Their kids are home for one week for school break and 3 days into it they are all asking when it will be over. I don't get it. When I was working full time I lived for those breaks so I could be with my kids.

 

As for regrets, I don't think I have any yet. This is only our first year so I have plenty of time to develop some. I do wish that we could have started sooner but that is not really a regret.

[ClassicMom]

I have homeschooled since 1994 and I have truly enjoyed being with my children. I've enjoyed learning with them, watching them learn, grow, and grow in their faith. They are remarkable young women and I am so proud of them. There are many choices that we made that were good, some not so good.

 

Some regrets; I wish that I would not have had to work many of the years that I did. It interfered with the time we had together and we missed out on many disscussions that we could have. I wish we would have started Classically educating sooner than we did. I also wish that we would have started a family earlier because we could have had more children before my needing a hysterectomy.

 

I am starting out on a new homeschooling journey with our 1st grader and plan to do it a bit differently this time. ;) More nature walks, more classically minded, more discussions and more just plain fun.