How and Why We Decided to Homeschool

Many of you have asked, “Are you homeschooling?” That question has been frequently followed by another: “What made you decide to homeschool?” A simple answer - yes, we are homeschooling. And we are so excited! It’s something we have considered for years but until this year (really the last two months) when we felt that God was leading us to take this new adventure. Your next question might be, “How do you know God is leading you to do this?” In all honesty, I questioned this myself. I wondered, “Is this the right thing? What if I can’t teach my kids all they need to know to graduate and venture into any college and career path they choose?” And then I prayed. I mean really prayed. I asked God to give us the peace to know that this is the direction he is leading and not just some half-brained, crazy idea that I could teach my kids. And you wouldn’t believe it (ok, maybe some of you would) but the path became so clear, so quickly. Let me tell you how.

In mid-June, I started thinking about homeschooling. I read a few blogs, looked at some online options for curriculum. Then, I requested a book from the library. Cathy Duffy’s 102 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum. This book was an eye-opener for me. I really read this book. Studied it even. I took notes. I was amazed that there were 102 options for curriculum! (I know, there are more. But for me, at that point, 102 options were all I could really grasp.) I took the homeschool method quiz in the book. (I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a homeschool method, much less more than one!) I even took a screenshot and printed of the pages with the curricula listed in a chart and I highlighted and circled each curriculum that met certain criteria (I’ll post about that later) and then I marked off several. Those that I highlighted and circled, I really researched. In that research, I learned that I really liked some and did not like others and then others were not on my kids’ age level. This was really just dusting the surface. I just wanted to see what was out there. Quietly, in the background, my husband knew I was reading this book. He knew I was digging in but we still weren’t there – in the comfort of the place that God was leading. So I kept searching.

By the end of June, my husband and I were having more conversations about it. We chatted on the back porch while the kids played in the pool. On the front porch while the kids slept. When I ran into old friends who are homeschooling, I chatted with them, asking questions. Getting ALL the information. I wanted to know everything I could before making a final decision. By mid-July, we made the decision. We were going to homeschool. Next year. That’s right. A year from now - 2020. Not this year. I mean, we had already re-enrolled and paid our annual tuition to their current school.

At least that’s what we thought.

Then God began to press. And open our eyes. And our hearts. And our minds. To see what potential we had. We had the potential to start this year. We sat on the front porch in our rockers (like an old married couple) early in the morning and talked while the kids slept. We talked about the pros and cons, the changes that will come with homeschooling, the time it would take. We had THE conversation. The ‘is-this-possible…what-if-it-doesn’t-work…how-will-I-teach-them’ conversation. And I cried. This was fear. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to do it. What happened to all the excitement? What happened to all the knowledge I gained in the research I had done? It was stomped on by fear! But not for long…

I prayed. He prayed. We talked to the kids. They prayed. And then it was evident. God gave each of us the peace that we were praying for. My kids were excited. And that got me excited! By mid-July, it was happening. We were making decisions to homeschool this year.

When we made this decision, there were steps we had to take to make it official. We had to file a Notice of Intent with the DNPE stating that we intended to homeschool our children. (We also had to name our school. More on that soon.) So we did. And then we had to wait for an approval. So we did. Then, we had to notify our current school that we were withdrawing our kids. So we did. (That was hard!)

Do you know that those steps all took place in a matter of 24 hours? That’s right. I filed the Notice of Intent with DNPE on a Thursday just after noon and on the same day, just hours later, I received approval! The website stated that it would be 3-5 days to process the Notice of Intent. That’s God working! And on that same day, we typed a letter of withdrawal to our current school.  After we questioned the letter for a bit. We finally hit send. And within 24 hours, it was final. The last nine years at the same school had passed and we were moving on.

So here we are…beginning our adventure in homeschooling.