In a couple weeks I will begin my ninth year as a homeschool mom. I have graduated two daughters. I have two left to go. I don't want to stop, because homeschooling, with all its joys and frustrations, is love to me.
I have been informally asked to one day, possibly, homeschool my grandkids. Since the first one isn't scheduled to make an arrival for another couple of months, I am sure I have some time before grandkids will need a teacher.
But a part of me loves teaching children. I love watching them as they read their first words or discover the excitement of a story. I love teaching, and I know that this is a gift God has placed in me.
I also love learning.
So the plan is that next month when school begins, our school will get a new student... Me. I am going to attempt to homeschool and go to college.
I am going to get a teaching degree. A few think it is a waste of money, since I don't need a teaching degree to do what I am doing. However, I have a few opinions of my own.
No, I don't need a teaching degree to teach well and give my children a superb education. But I want to teach other children that aren't mine, to be able to possibly give children whose parents want to homeschool and can't, a chance for their child to have a homeschool education. Technically, where I live, I don't need a teaching degree for that either, but many parents would hope that the teacher they hire has a college education.
Second, college has been a dream of mine for a long time. In fact, I have tried numerous times to return to college from when I quit a week before my first child was born. (That child is now grown, married, and having my first grandbaby.) Every time, God had other plans. Since one of those times was the discovery that I was pregnant with my youngest child, I know He knows what He is doing. Now, after all these years, I feel the urge to try again. I want my children to see their Mom go for her dream. I don't want to regret not doing it.
Third, I have two daughters that have ADHD. My husband is ADD. These learning issues can leave a student feeling discouraged and defeated, and those feelings often last forever. I want to be able to work with kids that struggle, because they aren't stupid, no matter how they are made to feel. Many, in fact, are quite intelligent. Some have rare gifts that might never be discovered if they are placed in an LD class and labeled.
Fourth, I am educating my children in such a way that I want them prepared for whatever mission God has for them. That means, they need to be ready for college. I had one daughter graduate from college. My next daughter, who just graduated, struggled, and spent most of her school years in public school with an IEP. She was homeschooled for high school, and did amazing. She wants to take time off of school now, however. The choices are open for my other two. If they see mom go to college, working hard, they will know that they can do that and more.
I have a lot to set up and a short time to get it all finished. Classes begin in a month for college, unless I hit a delay, and then I will have until January. For me, our homeschool starts in three weeks. Can I do it all? Well... I will find that out the hard way.
Pray for me!😊
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