Hello, my name is Debra, I am from West Virginia, and I will be homeschooling my son for the first time this coming year. He will be in the fourth grade. He has been going to a good christian school operated by my church, but I had decided to send my older son and him to another good christian school in the next town because there is no students in the high school anymore at my church school. My oldest son will be a senior this year and most of his classmates had already moved to the other school. I prayed about it for a long time, and had peace about sending my oldest to the new school, but not my younger son. I just couldnt get peace about keeping him in the current school or sending him to the new one. Then one day, the Lord laid on my heart the desire to homeschool him. It was like a light went on and everything opened up as far as information. I had always wanted to try homeschooling, but it just wasnt a possibility before now. I am really excited about it, but very scared as well. The problem I am having now is that everyone I tell is very discouraging and even appalled at my decision. Even my christian friends from church. I really feel that this is the right decision from the Lord, but it hurts to hear such criticism form church friends. However, there is one family at church who also homeschools and I hope we can support one another. Any advice would be appreciated, thank you!!!

Welcome! Sorry you are coming up against the negativity. Rest easy that you are not alone in this and that it is a wonderful journey. My first advice is relax and do not try to replicate a school setting. The joy of home education is that you can learn much more naturally and relaxed. Take time to simply enjoy the time with your son. Watch him, listen to him, get to know his interests and help feed those. Learning is a natural part of our lives and does not need to be done with expensive curriculums, rigid time schedules, and presenting information in ways that does not suit the learning style of your child.

Take time to look at the different homeschooling approaches. Don't spend any money right away, as you will find out that there are more things to buy for your "schooling" than time in a day or money in the bank. You may find yourself changing your mind on the what and how over time, and that is normal. Utilize your library for resources. Talk to the other other Mom who homeschools and see what has worked/not worked for them and why.

Amongst all those in this group, you will find a variety of philosophies, years of homeschooling, curriculum used, or no curriculum used. Find what works for you and your son. There is no "right" way, and no "perfect curriculum". There are websites that are filled with free materials and ideas as well. We will all be glad to answer any questions you may have.

Hi Debra! Welcome!!! There will always be nay-sayers, so don't let them get you down. :0) You can do this!!! We have lots and lots of resources on this site. Take a look at the links from our home page: http://www.homeschoolchristian.com You'll see testimonies from people who have taken the plunge and lots of encouraging articles. We're here to help you every step of the way. So just ask any question you have, and we'll do our best to help!

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Welcome to HSC!
Sometimes a simple, "This is what God is calling me to do." Will silence people. (not ALL of them, lol! but some...)
They can take their argument to The Higher Authority if they don't like it.

If you are married, then you could also refer them to your dh. It's funny that people will feel comfortable telling the wife how they feel, but when handed over to the husband, suddenly it becomes a non-issue... "I have my husband's supprt in this decision, perhaps you'd like to speak to him?" OR "My husband and I have prayed and feel this is where the Lord is leading us as a family." (kinda kills two birds with one stone with that one. )

You CAN home school your ds. Even if you are single you CAN homeschool him.
I'm a single mom of three.. and there are many single parent's on this board that have homeschooled and graduated their children.

Oh, I like Tory's answers. (Welcome, BTW.) It sounds like you have been clearly lead of the Lord so don't let the words of others bother you. They are just ignorant in what they're saying.

Meanwhile, enjoy the world of homeschooling! I officially graduated my youngest in 2000, but somehow I've kept active in it. (Mostly because my grands keep coming to live with me!) LOL

All of us come up against the negativity, but I figure that is their problem not mine.
I have home schooled my DD since 2nd grade and she is now in her 2nd year of college.
I do not regret pulling her out of public school at all.
she has a 4.0 grade average so far.
Do what you feel is right and sometimes you just have to ignore what others think.
Good Luck.

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Be patient. Convince yourself that it's the right thing, and make sure your dh is sold on it. And, just plug away.

When I first told people we planned to homeschool, I met with a lot of well-intentioned resistance. Especially from those who had never heard of homeschooling before.

But, I read up on it, so I knew what to tell people when they said, "But what about . . . ?" I could share actual statistics, etc - about how much better it is. And, I shared that great stuff with my dh. I also read HOW to teach certain subjects most effectively. And, we got started.

When you homeschool, if you're diligent & disciplined, you have the opportunity to give your kids 24/7 one-on-one tutoring. All other things (IQ, ability, etc) being equal, it is probable that you will see some AMAZING results! I know I have. Then, when you meet those nay-sayers, and they see that your kid is well-educated for grade level, well adjusted, social, etc - they may well become your greatest advocates.

I know that some of the biggest skeptics when I was starting have become some of my biggest supporters : )

Don't expect people who've never seen homeschooling (or have only seen a bad example of homeschooling) to be sold on it - be patient and give them a chance to see it work : )

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