Considering homeschooling..........have a question

[christyg]

Hi! My name is Christy. I have a 5 year old daughter in a 1/2 day preschool program and a 3 year old son at home with me. I am considering homeschooling her in the fall for kindergarten. I have always thought that it would be great to be able to homeschool, but I never thought that I could do it, so I just pushed the idea aside. We moved to Texas from Alabama last August. My husband and I grew up in the same area and had never lived anywhere else. We knew almost everyone in our community. We knew a lot of teachers and administrators in the school system (my sister, cousins, aunts, church family). So, we were not as hesitant about putting our kids in public school. But, after Christmas, I just started dreading the fall, knowing that I was going to have to send my baby girl to school here not knowing anyone. That's what got us to thinking seriously about homeschooling. My husband is all for it. He is an accountant and is taking seminary classes now (he was a pastor back home). He has pretty much left the decision up to me because he knows that I will be the main one doing it. I have just been praying and researching as much as possible to be able to make the best decision for our family.

I have looked at a lot of curriculum. Carrie, HOD looks great! Thank you so much for your faithfulness in making that available to us. If we decide to homeschool, we will definitely be trying it. I have done a lot of research, and I keep coming back to it. It just seems so complete.

Anyway, sorry for the long post. My question to you all is this: Do you belong to a homeschool group or co-op and how involved are you in it? Since we don't have any family here, I am really concerned about the kids making friends. We have a really big family and a large church family back home and it was never an issue. But, we are totally new here. We do have social opportunities here: our new church, classes (she is in a ballet/tap class now), a local library, and there are several parks within a few minutes of our home. Is that enough or do you think that we need to join some sort of group? I am honestly one of those people who doesn't want my kids being too busy. I believe that they need to just be kids and play for as long as they can. We have some friends who have their kids (same age as ours) doing something almost every night of the week and I just think that is too much! I think that this is the only issue that is keeping me from making my decision.

Thanks so much!
Blessings,
Christy

[2smiles]

Hey, Christy! Welcom to Texas, and hopefully, to homeschooling!

I'm like you, not wanting my kids to be too busy. I prefer that they have a few meaningful friendships, where we know the entire family!

We are involved in a homeschool group. In the fall, we went to co-op, which was a fun way to learn a little bit more, for my girls to meet new kids and for me to be around other homeschool moms and get some much needed support and encouragement. This spring, we are taking it a bit easier, we occasionally go on field trips with our group, but mainly, we like to meet at the park to play. We are also involved in church groups and Kindermusik.

A great way to meet moms when you have a preschooler is MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) Chances are, if you're in Texas, you will have a group near you that has other homeschooling moms. If you are interested, you can go to www.mops.org to find the group closest to you.

Hope this helps a little!

[Jessi]

Hello Christy!

I'd check and see what kinds of homeschooling co-ops or groups there are in or near your area. Not all offer the same things. You ought to make a list of what would be most important in a Co-op (i.e. play dates, classes, field trips, monthly meetings, support for moms, etc) Then you find one that most easily fits into your life based on that criteria. If you don't want a lot of commitment outside the home, I wouldn't recommend Co-Op for K then as Co-Op usually is once a week and parents are either encouraged or required to participate in some way. It only adds to your stress of starting something new like homeschooling. If it were me, I'd look for one that has play dates and field trips first and foremost. Those are excellent ways to meet new people.

So excited for this possibility for you and your family!!!! We have children very similar in ages!!! My daughter is doing LHFHG at half speed right now even though she isn't supposed to be in K till fall. We are going much slower and really enjoying ourselves. In fact, yesterday morning I was setting out the books on the table and my daughter said "Is it time for school?" I told her yes and she literally did a happy dance all the way to the table singing "Yes!" How's that for excitement!

[pollo_la]

Welcome! I joined a local homeschool support group this past fall and it has been great. They have monthly field trips for the kids and monthly meetings for the moms (and occational dads). My kids are still very young, so we have not attended any of the field trips as of yet, but I have attended a few of the moms meetings and they have been wonderful. At first I was worried about how my girls would make friends as well. My first dd is VERY social!! I know that she will need a couple of close friends that are also homeschooled. In our area there are classes (ballet, gym, swimming, tennis, etc) that are just for homeschoolers. There is also a nature center close to our house that has monthly classes for homeschoolers. My plan is to put each of my children in one "physical/sport" type class, and also in the monthly class at the nature center. We will also do an occational field trip with our support group (all of this when they are "of age" of course). We will likely start this for my dd this fall since she will turn 5 this summer. I think this will be more than enough for my children. I think this will give them a chance to make some good relationships with other homeschoolers without completely over doing the activities. We also attend church and do AWANA on Wednesday evenings, so I think they will have plenty of time to make friends.

I know that 2 years ago when I first looked into homeschooling, I had so many fears and questions about things, but God has definitely blessed my decision. God has given me ample resources to succeed in the homeschooling journey.

May God bless you as you make this decision.

[dale1088]

Hi Christy,

Welcome to Texas!

I'm brand new to homeschooling myself and felt completely confident that God led me to HoD. So far so good. We have issues, but with my daughter, not the curriculum!

I am involved in a group, but we are a very casual group, just for park days and field trips. We do celebrate birthdays once a month at a park day, have certain holiday parties, and do a Mom's Coffee Night once a month. We are a yahoo group, so that's how we communicate with eachother and can ask lots of questions and support eachother. i will say it's been a Godsend for me! They helped me get started, helped me navigate talking to the school, met me with curriculum so I could look it over, and just been a wonderful new group of friends. There are other groups in my area but this supports my need for something casual right now, but supportive Christian friendships.

You will be SURPRISED how many homeschoolers there are in TX once you get out there!

[Amey]

Hi Christy!

I'm from Texas, born and raised, so depending on where you are located, I might be able to connect you with some other home school Moms or a group. You can PM me if you don't feel comfortable sharing that on here. We are in Mexico now, but I do miss all of the great opportunities that Texas has for home schoolers. It is truly the easiest state to home school in, so be blessed in that regard! You and your children will be truly blessed should you decide to home school and there is lots of help and support along the way..especially here at the HOD board! So, welcome to the group. I'll be praying for God's perfect peace in your decision making

[Carrie]

Christy,

I'm so glad that you are considering homeschooling your kiddos. My hubby and I never planned on homeschooling our kiddos, yet when the Lord laid it on our hearts we followed His lead and jumped in. We've never looked back! I pray you'll clearly feel the Lord's leading, whatever that may be.

As far as activities and co-ops go, you'll find the ladies on the board range all over the place in this area. The wonderful thing is that while our lifestyles are really varied, we all are joined in making our schooling work with HOD. Our family does not belong to a co-op or any outside groups. We are basically home each day, and my boys spend much time with their brothers. We enjoy having the boys utilize their free time in the afternoons and on the weekend to pursue their hobbies, and we find that they can only do that when provided with plenty of free time.

We do swimming lessons one session each year, and the boys golf weekly in the summer and bowl weekly in the winter with their dad. We have a family game night on Sunday evenings and play with the cousins on Friday afternoons. The boys bike in the summer with their dad, play outside, and either sled (in winter) or swim (in summer in our cheap pool) in our backyard daily . We are a VERY low-key activities type family. While this may not appeal to you at all, I share it to give you a perspective of the wide range of families and activity levels you will see within homeschooling. Each family needs to find the niche that fits them best, and I pray that you'll find what suits you best!

Blessings,
Carrie

[jessyb26]

Christy,
Welcome to Texas! You mentioned your husband going to seminary. Are you in Fort Worth? We moved to DFW a few years ago so my husband could attend the seminary here in Fort Worth. My daughter who is 6, attends ballet at our church along with AWANAS. She also plays soccer twice a year with the local YMCA. Here in Fort Worth they have a fine arts academy at one of the local churches one day a week. We are going to put our daughter in some of the classes next year and use Heart of Dakota 4 days. They offer classes such as choir, art, music, dance, theater and a Bible survey class.

Jessica

[christyg]

Good morning ladies! I just wanted to say thanks so much for all of your help! You all gave me some great suggestions to think about. I think with her starting kindergarten (and it being our first year to homeschool), we should definitely take it slow. We would probably do our church activities, maybe one class, and a park day. My husband and I already try to take the kids on quite a few "field trips". In all honesty, I think that I have already decided to do this, I think that I am just stalling because it is so overwhelming. I really do feel like the Lord has led us to it. He moved us to probably the easiest state to homeschool in. I really feel like He has led me to HOD, because I haven't even considered doing any of the other curriculum that I have looked at. Everything just kind of fell into place for us to do it. But isn't that just how the Lord works? He always knows best.

Amey and Jessica: We live in the Houston area..........

Thanks so much again and I hope that you all have a blessed day!
Christy

[MainelyJen]

Christy, welcome!

First, I wanted to comment on socializing. Throughout our homeschooling experience, we have done many different things. There were some years where we had close friends nearby and we could do weekly visits. I, personally, prefer this type of get-together to more formal, group things. It met our needs for quite a while. Other seasons of life we've had outside classes and a support group. But I have always been the type to try to avoid over-involvement in outside activities. I'm just not the go-go-go type of mom. . .I start to feel overwhelmed when spread too thin. You'll discover your own comfort level as you go.

Second, for me the ultimate overwhelming decision was having my children in the first place. I'll be frank - I never wanted to marry or have children. God did amazing work in my life, and before you know it I was married and we were talking about starting a family. Once I had made that initial terrifying decision to be responsible for little lives in my care, homeschooling didn't seem like a very big deal! Also, I had a public school education which basically destroyed my faith by my teen years. I wanted more for my children; I wanted them to have the Christian education I had missed out on. The positives I was reaching for (a God-centered, peaceful, family-focused life) far outweighed any doubts I might have had at that time.

We'll be praying for you as you make a final decision and move forward! I do know, no matter what you decide, you are a mom who loves her children and is doing her best to serve her Lord and her family. . .keep up the good work!