To Homeschool or NOT to Homeschool??

I don't know about you but sometimes I really question if I am doing the very best for my girls by pursuing the homeschool route. When we made the choice to homeschool we completely felt that God led us to this decision. However, each year I wonder what Opal and Mae's futures will look like if we continue down this path. I'm grateful to live in an enormous homeschool community and I have several friends who have graduated their children from homeschooling to college.

My newest bout of anxiety over whether I made the right choice to homeschool came with the hundreds of Facebook posts showing prom pictures. I sat down and talked to a few of my homeschooling mom friends to see how they felt. My largest concern was that I was taking away an experience from Opal and Mae.

The conclusion from this discussion was that the majority of teens get into way too much trouble after prom. Some kids are well behaved and they go to the dance and go home. Others, and I'm hazarding to guess that A LOT, get themselves into major trouble and engage in illegal and immoral activities. Do I want Opal and Mae to be tempted to engage in these dangerous activities...NO. I can't protect them forever, but if I can prevent them from making the same teen mistakes that I made, well a mom has to try right?? With that being said, the girls can still experience prom even in homeschool. Some homeschooling parents get together and throw a prom for their kids. When we approach that age, I guess we will look into the whole shebang!

My next anxiety came after seeing the billions of high school graduation pictures. Sadly, this year's graduation pictures included former students from my first year of teaching...now I feel old and sad! If I continue to homeschool through 12th grade, Opal and Mae will miss out on their graduation march to "Pomp and Circumstance." I'm actually a little sad about my girls missing out on this experience. However, we can still get senior portraits made, we can still celebrate the end of a milestone, the girls still have friends to celebrate with, and they will still have a diploma.

The Pros and Cons of School:

• We tried the school route and it was great.
• The girls attended my school and I knew their teachers and chatted with them daily.
• They received a Christian education and they had great ladies that led them in their walk of faith.
• The girls had many friends and had lots of fun.
• They made good grades and engaged in extracurricular activities, BUT...
• Did Opal and Mae have gaps in their education? YES. 
• Did we enjoy waking up super early and making a mad dash out of the house five days a week? NO.
• Did I enjoy giving other children more attention than my own? NO.
• Did I enjoy the exhaustion that came at the end of every day? NO.

The Pros and Cons of Homeschooling:

• I have been able to give Opal and Mae individualized education on a daily basis. In a school setting, they would not receive this type of education because they are not special needs.
• I have been able to fill in the gaps in their education and I feel confident in knowing that they have a fuller grasp of educational concepts due to my instruction.
• I get to spend my every day with them and not focus the majority of my attention on other children.
• They still receive a Christian education.
• They still have tons of friends. Actually, I would say they have better friends now than when they were in school. You see schools pretty much pick a child's peers. They lump kids of the same age together and they become de facto friends with certain kids in this grouping. It doesn't matter if these kids have things in common. With homeschooling, the girls have made friends with kids that share common interests. Age isn't a factor. For example, Mae likes to play with LPS (Littlest Pet Shop) and her friend Evelyn, who's four years older, likes to make LPS videos. Together they make the funniest little videos and Evelyn is Mae's best friend. Evelyn treats Mae as a little sister and loves hanging out with her. At first is seemed weird to us that two kids with such a large age difference could be friends, but now I understand that age doesn't really count when making friends...friendship is based on common interests. 
• The girls are engaged in more extracurricular activities now than they ever were when we were in school.
• We can sleep in every day of the week if we need to and honestly, I have less cranky kids now than five years ago!
• I rarely go to bed mentally drained compared to when I was teaching 20 kids.
• Finally, the girls still go to school in an actual classroom with a great view!

In conclusion, will I homeschool Opal and Mae through high school? I hope so, but it ultimately depends on God's plan for us and what the girls want. Are they really missing out on life experiences? I'd like to think that they are experiencing more through homeschooling than they ever would sitting in a classroom!

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