Home Schooling

It's April, that means that it's about that time where all the kindergartens are having their open houses. This is great, because my daughter will turn 5 in October and be starting kindergarten this year. I've had a really hard time making the decision about which school to send her - not because the three main choices are fantastic schools, each with pros and cons, but because I have always wanted to home school.

A little background: I am not religious at all. I am not a hippie who wants to unschool. I am not on a power trip or overprotective, if anything I'm a bit too laid back in that department. My children a bright - but not incredibly advanced and I wouldn't suspect they could hit anything higher then the "mildly gifted" section I fall into (the one not all schools agree 'counts').

So why homeschool? It feels right. There is something appealing about being able to help my children be the best they can be. If they're struggling in a topic, we can enhance and focus on that area. If they excel we can move on quickly. We can spend more time leaning about all those cool things not covered in the Canadian curriculum while still teaching them everything they need to know.

My daughter has a few issues - I haven't gone for a diagnosis yet, out of both lack of confidence in the psychological field in my area, and the fact that I am against medication/this is none for what she may have. The challenges she faces, which is an inability to focus and explosive behaviours, will either improve or get much worse in a school setting.

Money will be tight - but the Alberta government offers funding for home school students. We would be following a curriculum created by a distance education school. My kids, if they were to homes school, would get high school diplomas the same as anyone else, only they would graduate with a lot more skills.

"Oh but they won't socialize!" that's what people keep telling me. There is a homeschooling support system. There are activities. There are playdates. There are plenty of antisocial kids in regular schools.

My husband has disagreed - he thinks school is the way to go, and I have agreed to try it. I can't home school without support. If it is the best thing for my daughter we'll see her excelling there, and that is my true end-goal. If it's not right, I work from home, so the home school option will always be there. Until then we'll keep learning at home. Things could change in the next 5 months.