Do you enjoy homeschooling your child?

by Andrea Hermitt | More from this Blogger

Reading through the families.com homeschooling forums, I stumbled upon a compliment directed toward brave homeschooling parents. The comments really got me thinking. Do I enjoy homeschooling my child? Will I be happy when it is over? What would make it easier? I will go ahead and thank Beth now for a bit of cannon fodder. Here is my take on the issue.

Do I enjoy homeschooling my child?

I did not decide to homeschool my kid because it was something that I wanted to do. For me the time I spend teaching my kids is not the ice-cream sundae of my day. It is however, the steak and salad. The decision to homeschool my children came more out of need to take care of their well-being than for my personal enjoyment. In fact, years ago, when my husband first suggested that I homeschool, the words I replied, well... cannot be repeated. However, when the time came, I decided that if I was going to eat my proverbial spinach, that I might as well add a nice vinaigrette dressing and make the most of it. These days, after four years of homeschooling, I have to admit, that many aspects of homeschooling have become more fun that work. Sometimes the dinner is more enjoyable than the dessert.

Will I be happy when homeschooling is over?

Oh, yes! However, I will also miss it. Just like a 60-something year retiree is glad when their time is done, and is happy for retirement, I will be happy when my time as a homeschooling mom is done.

What would make homeschooling easier?

Just as Beth remarked that homeschooling would have been easier had her child not been ill, there are certainly things that would make homeschooling easier for me. It would be easier if my daughter had a longer attention span. It would be easier if my son were not stressed so easily. It would be better if I were not attention deficit. Not having these issues would make homeschooling easier, but challenges are meant to be overcome.

So once again, I would like to thank Beth for the wonderful complement left on the homeschooling forum and thank you for sharing your story. It reminds me how blessed I am. You homeschooled through a particularly difficult and trying time and so you too are officially, and forever more a brave homeschooler.

Learn more about Andrea Hermitt

Andrea Hermitt is a native New Yorker currently residing in GA. She has been married for over 16 years and has two teenage children.

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