What I Gave Up to Homeschool (and what I got in return)

Bitterness or resenting homeschooling after you have made the choice to homeschool is an easy trap to fall into.

There is much hype about homeschooling. Though some of it’s true, some of it is not.

Making wise choices for your family is about being realistic too when it comes to homeschooling.

The homeschooling lifestyle can either fall like a ton of bricks into your lap and not really be a choice you contemplated or you may be like some who planned to homeschool before the birth of their child.

Whatever the case, what you give up to homeschool matters because having a realistic picture of homeschooling can quell homeschooling doubts. How does that happen?

Look at these things that you will face or may have already faced so far in your journey.

What I Gave Up to Homeschool

Addressing them now helps you to weigh your choice in advance.

■Being homebound.

Yes. I feel at the beginning of my journey that I was more homebound.

At the end anything always gives you a better vantage point.

So now, I don’t have kids that are 4 years old, 2 years old and newborn any longer.

What I realize now is that regardless of whether I homeschooled or not, I was at home more because of the ages of my children.

I may have given up some of my freedom, but what I gained by not just being home, but using my time to nurture my sons’ relationship with me and their father and spiritual training have far outweighed anything I felt like I gave up to be at home.

It was hard to feel that way when I washed baby clothes every day, picked up after toddlers and had one sleepless night afer the other.

But, I would NOT give up one moment of it to watch EVERY precious educational step they took.

■ Giving up my hobbies or interests.

Yes, I gave up some of what I wanted to do as far as personal things. My brain is always ticking for another creative visual project, but I had to learn to curb it so that I could stay focused on what my sons needed for the day.

Back in the day, scrapbooking was the craze and I saw it as a benefit to organizing all of the photos I would have through the years.

Guess what? I have only a partially done scrapbook for my first son and fast forward 16+ years of homeschooling, I have thousands and thousands of photos that need to be organized.

On the other hand, I also have thousands and thousands of moments of tender time with my sons.

Two of my sons are finished with homeschooling and as I look at the men they have become, I don’t have to have a photo to look at to see the strong and spiritual men they are becoming.

Oh sure, I would love to organize all those photos, but then again I would have missed the moments of homeschooling.

Instead of fretting over what I couldn’t do, I used my ticking bomb brain to create over 40+ free homeschool unit studies and lapbooks for my sons (and your kids too) and a 7 Step Homeschool Planner for me and you.

I wouldn’t trade that for anything!

■Traveling. Giving up my freedom to travel.

Scrapbooking seems so shallow by comparison to the legal job I enjoyed.

As a certified paralegal, I enjoyed traveling to different places, receiving continuing education and stay in beautiful hotels and places.

Did I mention I loved the aspect of dressing up each day? It made me feel good.

Though my hair may now do just as well up in a hair clip and my latest apparel are comfortable capris and a cutesy top, I never would have imagined that as homeschoolers we would have traveled to the Amazon Rain Forest for a “field trip” or lived abroad.

I still don’t give up dressing for the day when I can and I will never give up my makeup or big jewelry. The homeschooling community just accepted me as I am.

Though I miss the days of my career and reading legal briefs (I am weird that way, I love all that fine print), I savored the moments when I read my sons’ essays and topics that piqued their interests.

Though I will probably never help pick a jury out or negotiate with an attorney, I chose homeschool co-op leaders like Kelley and Cynthia.

They are not only awesome and strong homeschool leaders, but spiritual women who influenced my sons during their school time and ultimately life. I will never be able to repay them for their positive influence on my sons.

Negotiating with an attorney for one of my clients seemed easier by comparison than consulting with the other homeschool leaders for planning field trips and co-ops for our large homeschooling group.

These are three things I gave up to homeschool, but what I got in return not only outweighed what I have given up, but has surpassed it.

It was easy to forget, though I thought I knew it, but reward comes at the end.

Tiny payoffs during the year are just that – small. However, they were always enough to keep me going and not regretting the homeschool lifestyle I chose.

What have you have given up so far to homeschool?

You’ll also love to read these articles:

• 4 Undeniable Reasons People Hate Homeschooling (Keep It Real)
• 3 Foolproof Ways I Cope When I Can’t Homeschool (or Blog)
• 7 Homeschool Lies I Want to Tell My Younger Self

Hugs and love ya,