Me? A Homeschooler?

When Andrew was a little thing, I had a neighbor that lived across the hall. She had two kids and one on the way. That in and of itself was impressive to me, but she also homeschooled her oldest; she made me tired just thinking about it! From the very beginning of my motherhood career, I never once entertained the idea of homeschooling my children. In fact, I think I was actually looking forward to the days when all of my children were old enough to leave the nest and I could have the days to myself again!

As Andrew got older, I decided I wouldn't send him to preschool when he turned three because I didn't think it was necessary. But I FOR SURE would send him the year before he started kindergarten. I also didn't want to do an at-home-co-op with other moms because 1) it looked like a lot of work and 2) I'm not a huge fan of watching other people's kids. Let me explain that a bit, I like kids, I really do. Just not unruly kids that annoy me.

However, the summer that Andrew turned three, some moms in our neighborhood asked me to be part of their co-op preschool. Two of them were teachers, so I figured Andrew would get more out of this co-op than with just me at home, so I signed up. It was hard at times, but we had a lot of fun, Andrew learned tons, and I'm glad we did it.

Andrew is now almost four and he has one more year before he starts kindergarten. And can you believe it? I'm not sending him to preschool! It was actually a very tough decision for me, but when push came to shove, Andrew made the final decision. I actually signed him up for preschool. It was a great preschool right on campus. I heard nothing but wonderful things about it. But when I took Andrew down there to pay the deposit, we took a gander at the classroom he'd be in. I told Andrew that this would be his new classroom. And he said, "Mom, don't leave me here." He was panicky. I was panicky. It was not a good thing.

So I did some research, lots of talking it over with Randy and the ladies on the playground (and some prayer), and I decided to keep him home for another year. We're actually going to do a co-op with three other moms, it all happened so perfectly and I'm really excited about it. We're also going to try something new this year, we're subscribed to a preschool curriculum:

They send you the lesson plan each month with book lists and the materials for all of the art projects. It looks so fun (and hopefully it will be easier on us teachers).

Another motivating factor for homeschooling Andrew this year is the money. In our city, preschool for 3 days a week is $180/month! We can get the curriculum above, a family pass to EVERYTHING, lessons, supplies, and we can go on cool field trips around the city for less than half that price.

Plus, I get to spend one more year with my baby.

And little brother can tag along.

Andrew is getting a head start this summer with his Summer Bridge Activities workbook. If you're looking for something educational for your kids to do this summer, I highly reccomend this book.

**author's note: I know it looks like we're always doing some fun activity and that my boys are always educationally engaged, but trust me, they also watch lots of TV.