Yip, We’re One Of Those Families Cont….

So at the end of 2011, it was time for us to choose a High School for Jackson. Now, back in the day, you went to the closest school to your house, there were no comparing schools, choosing which had the best subjects, or the best sports teams, nope, it was the closest school full stop!

These days (I know, I know, I am sounding old!) life isn’t that simple. There are so many choices, it could almost do your head in!

So we had been back from our World Adventure for coming on 2 years. The kids had been happy at their little country school, but now Jackson was hitting High School and we had some decisions to make. To be honest, I had been stressing about High School since he was a little fella. There were a number of good options for him, but none of them sat right with us. Then in one split second of craziness, I said to Phil “Why don’t we homeschool the kids for High School” No sooner had the words come out of my mouth, than I was thinking “What the heck, where did that thought come from?”

But the more we talked about it, and the more we prayed about it, this crazy idea that was for all those other Mum’s, was becoming a reality. We talked about it with Jackson, asked him to pray about it and let us know what he thought! A few days later he came back to us and said “Yip, let’s do this”

And so our Home Schooling journey was starting….. again!
We decided to leave Gracie at her current school until she hit High School and then let her decide if she wanted to be Home Schooled or go to High School (she also chose to be Home Schooled) Just because it was right for Jackson, we didn’t want to assume it would be right for Gracie. We have said to the kids if at any stage Home Schooling isn’t working for them, we are more than happy to put them in High School. We have nothing against High Schools, we just think Home Schooling fits our family better!

And so now we are into our second year of Home Schooling and to be honest, I am loving it. I know some families Home School to protect their kids from the world, but I think for us it is the opposite. We have thrown our kids into the world head-on, taking them to Uganda earlier this year and numerous other experiences they have had that they wouldn’t have had if they were at a school. The fact that we don’t have to work around school holidays makes life cheaper and less crowded and we have plans for lots more travel!

Life at home is more relaxed (most days!) with no deadlines to be out the door by a certain time in the morning. There are no homework issues and no peer pressure from school mates!

In saying all of that, it is not perfect! Some days they drive me nuts (I’m sure the feeling is mutual!) my grocery budget has gone up with all the culinary delights they whip up for lunch and some days I wonder if they are missing out not being at the High School.

But I think at the end of the day, you have to do what’s right for you and your family, and for us, in this season, this is right!