this has been a big important decision that i have had weighing on my shoulders. my older kiddos, julian, age 10, and plum, age 8, both go to public elementary school at the moment. it's a great school but next year julian will be in middle school and a public school system is not an option for us any longer. their dad and i have always agreed that public school once they reached those all too impressionable years was not what we wanted for our children. julian has experienced a bit of bullying this year and it has definitely effected him a little which just breaks my heart.
i have thought about private schools but the private schools here in houston are not exactly what i have in mind. i decided to explore the option of home schooling the kiddos and was pleased to find out that the state of texas is very supportive of private home schooling and so this just may be the right choice for us. of course i have a few concerns, one being the anti-social aspect of home schooling and also the commitment and time that i will need to dedicate to teaching my kiddos myself. i am thinking that it would be best to find a few other moms in the area who are also home schooling or want to home school that we could get together with and school our children as a group on some days. i would also like to have group library days and group field trips. there are many of these groups here already in place that i am looking into however most of them are heavily religion based. we are not a particularly "religious" bunch and so many of these groups would not be the right fit for our family. i will continue looking into the subject but am really excited to give this my all. my children are the most important thing to me and i want to do what is best for them. i have already decided that if and when we start home schooling that i will enroll the kids into an outside art program and also participate in activities like dance and music.
i'm curious to know if any of you home school or were home schooled. do you have any advice and experiences that you would'nt mind sharing? i'm curious about everything right down to managing and scheduling schooling around your eveyday life. that would be so helpful to us. i have looked into several different curriculums and i think i found a couple that may fit our needs but am so open to any other suggestions and information out there.
thanks so much! xo.