Homeschooling: Do It Afraid

One of the fears we might have from time to time as homeschoolers is wondering if we have made the right decision to home school. I guarantee you, anytime you’re having a hard day or your sister comes over with her honor student sticker on the back of her van or you tell your son to do something twenty times and he doesn't do it or your high school student misspells words you think she should know how to spell by now, you will wonder if you’ve made the right decision. I think sooner or later everyone is bound to wonder if it might have been better if their kids would have just gone to public school.

Even with all the great experiences I have had in homeschooling, once in a while I still find myself wondering what it would have been like for everyone if they would have gone to a traditional public or private school. This, of course, usually happens when things are not going well. There are bad days when we wonder, but since the next day is usually better, the doubt passes. On good days we are convinced that we are doing the right thing. We think that there is no better choice. And maybe most of the days are good days and we only have that doubt once in a while.

Then there are seasons when really bad things happen. Seasons in life have a way of shaking us up and making us ask the hard questions. In those seasons, the doubt does not easily go away. Any good days in that season are overshadowed by the long days of trouble and pain. Those are the hard ones to overcome. The truth about homeschooling is that there will be days when you doubt. And the doubt will make you afraid.

Fear, however, doesn't have to paralyze us. Nor do we have to sit and wait for the fear to disappear. The fact is that in order for us to overcome fear, we must first do it afraid. Whether you are considering homeschooling for the first time or you are in the thick of things wondering if you should continue, this book is about how one mom did it afraid, why it was worth it, and how you can do it, too.