Taking the Plunge into Homeschooling
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By Beverly S. Krueger
I can remember the very first time I jumped off a diving board. Having finally screwed my courage to the sticking point, I’d managed to get to the end of the board. Pride made it impossible to go anywhere but into the swimming pool. The second or two that it took me to go from that low board into the pool seemed like an eternity, but long enough for me to think to myself, “there’s no turning back now.” Then splash, I was in the pool. It was both as bad and not as bad as I thought it would be.
Although starting to homeschool isn’t quite like jumping off a diving board for the first time, it does have similar elements. There are fears that have to be overcome before taking the plunge into homeschooling. Primarily these are fears of our own inadequacies. I don’t think I have enough patience. I might not teach them the right things. I don’t know if I’ll have the time to do it right. Then there are the fears that our children won’t be properly socialized if they aren’t with their peers seven hours a day for five days a week. Keep reading articles at the Eclectic Homeschool Online and you’ll find plenty of ammunition to overcome these fears.
Having overcome your fears enough to make the decision to forge ahead, you have to get to the end of the board before you can jump off. That means planning and preparation. State requirements must be met. You must decide how you intend to homeschool and what curriculum you’ll use. What will your day be like? Will you join a homeschool support group? Will you join a homeschool co-op? Most people will do the prep work before they jump into the pool. If you’re one of those people that jump straight into the pool, pulling your child from school before you’ve done the groundwork, you’ll do these things as your child deschools. You have time, even then, to prepare.
Finally, you’ll arrive at your first day of homeschooling. And it, too, can be both as bad and not as bad as you thought it might be. In fact, it might be terrific. My first day of homeschooling wasn’t so terrific. With one child angry about homeschooling, all three informing me that that’s not the way their teacher did things, and one child in tears because he couldn’t really do what his school teacher had told me he could do, we were in the pool and thrashing. It was sink or swim. So we swam. With time, things got better. We’re graduating a fourth child from our homeschool in a couple of weeks.
If you’ve talked to other homeschoolers about whether you should homeschool, you’ve already been told to jump on in. The water’s fine. From the edge of the pool, it looks like things are fine for everyone already in the pool. Still there’s that jump that has to be made. I left out part of my diving board story. That’s the part where I sent a plea to God not to let me drown right before I jumped. The truth is, if you believe that God wants you to homeschool, He will be there to catch you up when you struggle, and your head goes under water. That may be in your first year of homeschooling or it may be in your tenth year. He’s been there for me, and I know he will be there for you.
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
Copyright © 2009 Eclectic Homeschool Association
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