Oh, you didn’t know. I can’t say we’re a full in sold out, rage against the machine, homeschool family.

But we do homeschool our 13 year old son. I suppose we should have seen it coming. We struggled through the public school system for many, many years. Trying to get assistance for his ADHD-PI. Trying to enforce the classroom modifications he was supposed to receive per his IEP. Trying not to kill the teachers when they fight with him over a lost pencil…. it was all exhausting.

I’ll never forget last school year when we’d receive a notification that he hadn’t completed some piece of homework. We’d find it crumbled up somewhere down in the bottom of his book bag. We’d force him to sit down after already completing that days homework to do the missed assignments. We’d put it in his folder. Email the teacher to tell her where it was and that it was completed. He’d leave for school with a reminder to turn it in and we’d get home to an email saying the assignment wasn’t turned in. ARGH! Around the mulberry bush we’d go again. I can remember one specific assignment that we sent in for 3 weeks straight and it still never made it to the teacher. These weren’t our only issues. Our son is a little socially immature to his peers, struggled with handwriting, and in some areas just wasn’t ready for certain topics of learning like term paper writing.

I really didn’t want to. As a matter of fact, I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to be able to do it! I was working full time in the event industry, we had a 1 year old, and well… I was already overwhelmed without having to add the responsibility of teacher to my list. But somehow in my heart I knew it was the right thing to do FOR HIM. And so we took off.

Sometimes though…. I look at this journey and go What The Heck was I thinking?

1. I AM NOT A TEACHER!:

I didn’t go to school for this. I don’t know what material I’m supposed to be covering.

2. I DON’T LIKE MY KID THAT MUCH!:

Wait you mean I have to spend all day AND all night with him? AND he’s 13? Ugh!

3. IF HE FAILS A LITTLE… I’M A GIANT FAILURE!:

In the beginning I created all of these systems and schedules… down to the second he would break for the bathroom. Yes I am that crazy. I tried to manage his work via messaging and video from my desk. Yes, I already told you I AM that crazy. I’d get home from a long day at work, help with dinner, and then sit down to check his progress for the day… and then lose my mind! He would get some of one thing done and not something else. He acted like… I don’t know… a kid with ADHD! I took this on as a huge failure. What was I doing wrong? How could I create a better system for him?

4. I HAVE TO KEEP RECORDS?:

Yeah. I have a system. But I hate it. I hate doing it and it takes a good amount of time. I keep trying to teach my kid to grade himself… but that never seems to work. 😉

5. THE DREADED SOCIAL LIFE:

I get it. You think I have a hermit child who has no friends. Well not really. But I get it. I worry about not raising a weirdo kid who can’t have a conversation with his peers. I worry about the stigma that he’ll carry when he goes on his first date and tells her he’s homeschooled. I care about that stuff… but not enough that is outshines the good parts of homeschooling.

So why am I still doing it? It’s pretty easy to send your kid back to the school system once you’ve pulled them out. Schools love additional federal funding. But what I’ve learned and experienced homeschooling him far outweighs all of the struggles I listed here.

1. WE MAKE OUR OWN SCHEDULE:

If the day doesn’t turn out like my planny pants self expected, it’s cool! We can scrap it, stretch it, move it, or drop it. Hey guess what? Saturday is still a day of the week… and guess what if he does a good job he gets Friday’s off.

2. I KNOW HIM THE BEST:

This means unlike his school teachers I know what behavior is ADHD and what behavior is brat child. There’s no more educating someone else on his special needs. I’ll call him out when he isn’t doing his best but I also know when to lay off on a tougher day or subject. This was not our experience with the school. And… we don’t worry about lost pencils because we’re the ones that have to buy them.

3. HE STUDIES THINGS HE LIKES:

Before homeschooling I had no clue that my kid loved astrophysics. I didn’t even know what astrophysics was! But he did. So I filled my world with all things space. We use Netflix, Facebook groups about space, Google, Neil DeGrass Tyson has his own podcast, and anything else we can to provide for more learning opportunities. Astrophysics is a ton of math, a lot of science, and a fair amount of reading. So basically I punk my kid into learning by giving him things he likes. If the book bores him… we pick something different.

4. I NEVER HAVE TO GET DRESSED:

His school wardrobe? Track pants, sweats, and usually no shirt. I’m more effective as a teacher in sweat pants… don’t you think!

5. IT’S A TEAM EFFORT:

My husband has different skills than I do. I’m the creative one. I do all the organizing and making sure everything he needs is there. My husband teaches Math and Science and I do all the rest. Guess what else, we have made a huge dent in the handwriting issues without an OT. All of those years with an OT and we made more progress on this in less than a year than the school was able to do in many years.

So even though I have some pretty terrible days, homeschooling wasn’t such a bad choice. Our daughter is still in a brick and mortar school. She wouldn’t enjoy homeschooling like our big guy does and we recognize that. She likes that environment. But for us homeschooling has made all the difference in the world.

It’s SO NOT EASY! It’s a lot of hard work, dedication, and really being plugged into the needs of your kid. There are days where I’d like to choke him! But he’s learning well above his peers and excelling in areas that interest him. I’m doing the right thing. I just have to keep telling myself that…..

#sonottogether

Tell us why you started homeschooling! Have you ever considered homeschooling? Would homeschooling make you fall over dead? Share with me your thoughts.