Just about every homeschooler I know - even those who on the surface look like they have it all figured out - secretly ask themselves two things on a regular basis:
"Am I doing enough? Will my kids know enough to get into college and pursue the career they want?"
or
"Am I doing too much? Am I cramming so much information down their throats that they'll end up rebelling, hate learning, and forget everything anyway?"
The mom who made the joke is a long-time veteran homeschooler with highly accomplished children. If she gets scared sometimes, what chance to I have?
One day I'm convinced that my kid is destined for life as a grocery bagger (not that there's anything wrong with that), and I need to "Hurry! We only have five years left to learn everything he needs to know!!! Get the curriculum catalog, and let's get cracking!" And the next I'm convinced that they're way ahead of the game. After all, they have one-on-one time with their teacher throughout the day, they're learning things they enjoy (and thus are less likely to forget), and they get lots of free time to be kids.
What's the answer? Considering I have a different answer just about every day, I don't know. But I do know that my kids are happy and healthy, and they enjoy being around each other. We love spending time as a family. So no matter what happens, at least we have that, which is a lot more than many families can say.
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Yes, you'll always have that! And you'll have more...I really think home schooling with a very committed, talented parent, with the proper attitude, is the best education can ever get for a kid. Really, and I don't mean just academics, but everything. What many people don't understand, is that properly home-schooled kids have their parent arranging for their social learning too. p.s: Am I monopolozing your comment space?!
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