"But I can't!" -they say...

So many people say that they can't homeschool:

"It's too hard."
"I don't trust myself."
"I can't afford to cut my hours at work."
"I can't afford the curriculum/tools needed for such an undertaking."
"I wouldn't know where to begin."
"My kids need the socialization."
"I"m not patient enough."
(and the take-all?)
"I'm a single parent. I don't have the time."

Of course, being the supporter that I am of the whole thing, I can argue anyone out of all of these. Under any circumstances. The core issue is that most people find it much easier, less consuming (of time and money both), and just plain convenient to send their kids to school.

How many of you did I just piss off to no end? Relax, it ain't always about you personally.

Deciding to teach children at home is no small task, absolutely. Adjustments always need to be made. For one thing, you (the adult in the home) need to set aside time specific to learning, at least on occasion. For another, you need to be comfortable in your own skin.

Why? (again?) Because if you aren't, your kids will see right through you and weasel their little ways out of anything you want them to do. One of the first things my kids found was that if I hadn't ever been consistent with them before sitting down to work, I wasn't likely to be then, either. They were right. (We had a hard "first" year, I could tell ya all about it. But I won't - not right now.) Schooling-in-house doesn't begin and end (think I mentioned that before). Consider all that "character building" work that's studied in the classroom. At home, we don't read books about trouble-kids, we create example by situation. It works marvelously, too.

Balancing work against schooling isn't the hardest challenge, either. The nice thing about schooling at home is that you set the time frame. Want every Monday through Friday, 8am to noon and again from 1 to 4? It can be set up, if you don't work first shift. But here's where the lack of schedule comes in handy - you can school instead from 4.30 to 6p, then again from 7 to 9 and be done with it. This is great for working around work schedules, but it also comes in handy for those whose brains function better at different times of the day.

It's not hard. It looks hard, daunting, overwhelmingly so, but really, it's not that difficult. Let's throw in that other one, "where to begin" right here as well. Consider how you go about learning new things. You don't look at the goal and work your way back to where you are, that'd be foolishness. Instead, you pinpoint how much you know already and work up from there until you reach that goal. Kids function the same way. If today they can read "an," then tomorrow they should be able to read "ran." The building blocks aren't larger than the typical adult can handle with ease.

I suppose it appears through these last two posts that I trust myself one-hundred percent when it comes to knowing what to do, how to do it and when. I don't. Most of the time we do alright, but on occasion, I give the kids more than what they're ready for, sometimes less, for fun's sake. But when it comes to knowing myself what material I plan to teach, (for example, understanding the conversions from decimals to percentages) there are most definitely times that I don't know how to do it. There. I admit it - I don't know everything! STOP THE PRESS!!! -But really, who does? What's fantastic about this is that when I need to learn it myself, I either learn it with the kids or they see me going about "the learning process" and learn directly from that. It's a win-win, I'm tellin' ya!

Instead of fretting over purchasing a two-hundred (or more!) dollar curriculum, take that money, get a no-frills computer, grab a combo-printer/copier/scanner machine and subscribe to some internet connection company during a sale. (sales, always sales!) Next, hit the library, get a card, talk to the librarian about what you're setting out to do and give about an hour or so to really learn how to utilize the system. You won't regret it ever. Pick up some index cards and use them for whatever you can imagine - flash cards, categorizing, word-family binders, whatever. Aside of those, the rest is all typical "school supplies," really. Now you can generate your own worksheets, get them free online or scan them from library books. If you're lucky, some family member has a set of encyclopedias you can have (or for cheap) and it doesn't matter if they're old. Most of geography, history and much of the basic science stuff hasn't changed.

I'm not a single parent and don't pretend to understand what life is like in that situation. The only problem I really see that would hinder homeschooling though would be making sure that if the kid is young, there is supervision while you're at work. That's the easy part of sending kids off to school after all - Mom and Dad (or Mom or Dad) can go to work while Johnny's at school. But wouldn't Grandma's house be better? Really? Even my Mother would be better than the local school, and anyone that's read the old blog knows how much that's saying!

Socialization...ahh, the sweetest argument. It's usually first out of doubters mouths - "But don't you worry about social interaction with other kids their own ages?" Or, "Do your kids have any friends?" Of course they do! They've got friends and family just like any other typical kid. Once in a while there might be a reason to spend money on "extra-curricular" activities - dance class, karate/tae kwon do, basketball, yoga, etc. The YMCA offers some pretty great deals at the beginning of the year and their programs are great. Bang-Zip! - Socialization! Plus, don't you have friends? Do they have kids?

Finally, the clincher that pushes me to threaten public school in our house - patience. I've never had much for getting others to do what they need to in timely fashion or for misunderstandings. But this is typical, too. All one has to do is what "Survivor" once to understand how difficult it can be to be stuck in the same place with the same person for longer than comfort allows. Get used to it. Really, it's the only way to work through it. The biggest lesson I've learned yet is how to defuse the arguments brought on by lacking patience in the forum. All we need is one kid to get bored, distract another and suddenly focus is out for everyone. Bringing the task-at-hand back to the foreground is necessary, but not always right away. If one's bored, chances are we're due for a break anyway. If I run out of patience and toss my temper off, that teaches them it's okay and appropriate to do so. Instead, you learn when to push and when to release. You pick your battles. It's that simple. There are days when we quit after ten minutes and don't come back to it for two hours. That's okay. In those two hours, when cleverness is keen, learning on different subject areas or through different methods can suck up the time quite nicely. :)

So, it's not brain surgery. It is an overhaul of what most people call day-to-day living. But like any other day-to-day life, habits form, routines adjust and comfort can be reached. I just cringe when people tell me that they simply "can't" homeschool. I guess like I tell the kids, "You know what? You're right. You can't."

Now that I've pissed off just about anyone that's come around...I'll say one more thing. Homeschooling, like religion, has to be a priority in order to work. If it's not, it simply won't. We make it work, we put learning on an incredibly high pedestal. It works for us. Also, like religion, if it works for ya, great! If not, great!