Homeschooling is for Crazy People - Reason #2

From the second you walk into our house, you can tell we have kid and that we love books. We wear our homeschooling on our sleeve. It's obvious that it has taken over our lives. Which is  just another reason why homeschooling is for crazy people. 

Homeschooling is for Crazy People

Reason #2 - It takes over your life! 

Why it's Crazy:

Brain overtaken.  Once you make the decision to homeschool, there's a lot of work to be done. Lots of research to do. What style of teaching do you prefer? What kind learners are your children? Which curricula will you choose? Will you make up your own lessons? What extra-curricular activities will your kids be involved in? Is there room for much else? Homeschooling can quickly fill your brain with questions, thoughts, and ideas. Sometimes you forget that kids just need to play and moms should probably clean houses.

Physically messy.  Since you and your children are home for a good portion of each day, there's wear and tear on the house. Dishes can pile up, lest you disturb the flow of learning to wash them.  Your home begins to resemble a library. There's literally books scattered in every room, including the garage and bathrooms. Beautiful artwork and projects cover your counter tops. Science experiments sit on the table while you wait for bacteria and/or sweet potatoes to grow.

Of course this is my kitchen counter.

Expensive.  Homeschooling does not have to be expensive. I know plenty of thrifty ladies who use entirely free resources to educate their kids. But, and this is a big BUT, when educating your children becomes a way of life, it sure is easy to justify purchases.  After all, they need this for LEARNING! We wouldn't want to forego something that could help our kids become smarter, better educated people, now would we? Top quality art supplies to help your kiddo make pretty pictures develop their passion? A pack of beautiful, quality books to teach them to LOVE reading about history and science? A box of small parts that allows her to build whatever her heart desires whilst also teaching math concepts and spatial reasoning? Sounds like $400 well spent.

Yes, there are pieces of this set all over the house.

Theory v.  Practice. Do you enjoy planning? I think 90% of the homeschooling moms I know actually enjoy keeping a planner. (Don't forget to color-code with your erasable Frixion pens!) Developing exciting, hands-on tasks that support learning can be a really fun way to spend your time. The idea of schooling at home is fun for those of us who enjoy learning. Many homeschoolers have a teaching background. But beware, it's easy to spend more time thinking about, reading about and planning than actually doing school. It can become a hobby. We crazy homeschoolers sometimes forget to carry out those beautifully color-coded plans.

Why it's Awesome:

Way of life.  When you're a crazy homeschooler, being with your kids and exploring the world becomes what you do. You think about life and learning differently. You realize that learning is life. We crazy homeschoolers have to look up the questions our kids ask us rather than just wondering. We check out piles books when something interests us or our children. We owe the library lots and lots of money, but we don't mind, because we know this money will be spent on new books...that we will probably return late too. 

So many books, so little time.

You learn too. When you're a dedicated homeschooling parent, you learn right along with your kids. In teaching my daughter first grade Spelling, I have learned rules about the English language that I had never heard before. I've learned techniques for mental math that surely would have made me a more confident math student. After watching my daughter have a blast and learn how to defend herself at karate class, I couldn't help but sign up too.

Awesome friends.  Initially, I worried that homeschooling could be a lonely endeavor. Fortunately, I was wrong. Contrary to popular assumption belief, you are never alone. There are homeschoolers everywhere, and when you begin searching for them, you find some really special people. These are great friends who are in the trenches in nearly the exact same way you are. They get what you are going through and they have worried, cried, yelled, and wanted to ship their kids off too. And since children need to socialize, you have the perfect excuse for getting together regularly with these fellow crazy people! (I looked everywhere but I do not have a picture of them. I promise I didn't make them up!)

Rewarding work. As all teachers know, there is nothing quite as rewarding as watching a child who has struggled with a concept finally grasp it. We call these "Aha!" moments and we live for them. It feels so great to know that I am helping my kids learn to navigate the world around them and develop into competent human beings. Their struggles become my struggles and their triumphs make me want to celebrate too. Since I am the one teaching them virtually everything, I get to experience this wonderful feeling all the time. Which, perhaps, is why we crazy homeschoolers do it. 

She can read! And write! And do math! Not gonna lie, I taught her all that.

If you, too, would like to learn more about having a giant box of small parts in your house, just let me know in the comments!

This post is part of the 30 Day Challenge.