Home schooling

Many home-schoolers start off with great enthusiasm and energy when their children are young but notice that it fades as their children grow. home-schooling a 4 or 5-year old is much different than home-schooling a 14 or 16-year old. That is not to say that one is easier, but certainly they are different, and as a result, many home-schoolers begin to question themselves along the way. Sometime near the middle school years, or the transition into high school, parents will begin to ask themselves, “How much longer should I do this?”

This is a valid question, and one that my husband and I ask ourselves every year. For nearly 20 years, we have stopped at the end of every academic year and tried to assess the question of effectiveness and reward of home-schooling for our children. But we don’t stop there. We also ask our children and allow them to have an involvement in the conversation. Every year, as a family, we have opted to continue in our course and as a result, we have been blessed by a cooperative decision to make home-schooling work for us. We frequently adapt or fine tune, or make adjustments for new situations, but we press on towards our goal.

Had any of our children had particularly exclusive hobbies or skills that might have warranted making a change, such as a baseball player who was a contender for scholarships, I suppose we might have been more likely to consider a change. But even those skills can be successfully and independently promoted through home-schooling, so I have yet to encounter a gift or talent that requires my child to be in a public school in order to pursue. There are too many outside groups and organizations that are happy to include home-schoolers because the reputation for integrity and commitment precedes any home-schooler who wishes to join in on those groups.

Or, had any of my children had a particular set of social skills that needed an outlet, I suppose we might have considered a change, but my children have stated in no uncertain terms that the expressions of their social lives have not suffered as a result of home-schooling when you consider their overall abilities for interaction. In fact, socially, my children have learned to work together, adapt to unexpected interruptions, get their work done and even excel in doing so, help others in their midst, respond to the needs of those who are both older and younger in their environments, and to laugh, interact, communicate, and learn across age barriers. I am not sure what more I could ask for socially.

So while I cannot answer the question for you specifically, I can challenge you to address the root of the question. How long you should home-school your children is more of a factor of your goals and vision for your children, than it is of their ages or years in school. If you are financially able to do so, or have others who can help you take on the very demanding, but richly rewarding task of home-schooling, then you should consider home-schooling through the needs and desired outcomes, as well as through the years.