Homeschooling: What I Loved and What I Didn't Like So Much #homeschooling

It has been three years since we started on this journey.  In some ways it has been amazing and in others is has been hard.  I thought I'd share some honest thoughts about how our journey is going.


What I Loved:

I loved not having to rush my kids out the door.  Our mornings used to be hectic.  I'd be yelling for them to eat and get dressed.  There was always a shoe lost or a belt that couldn't be found.  That doesn't happen anymore.

I love letting them sleep when we've had a late night at church.  No more mornings of 6:00am now if we don't get home until 11 pm I can let them sleep until 8 and still get our day going.

I love being the one that gets to see the learning. When my son shares a something from a book he read with me or when I get to hear my littlest read his first word out loud.  Those moments are awesome!

I love that their education can be totally catered to them.  The middle son wanted to study french and he did.  The oldest loves Greek so we worked on that a bit.

I love that any moment can be a teaching moment and my kids are totally open to it.  A strange bug lands on the window and they want to google and see what it is.  We never stop learning!

Time.  My time is invested in my family. I love that I won't have missed spending time with my kids because that is what my day to day is... being with the kids.  They are growing fast. My oldest graduates in 3 years.  I am so happy I have been able to see so much of him these past 3 years as he has grown from a little guy to a man sized guy! 

What I Didn't Like So Much:

Grading.  There I said it.  I hate grading.  As soon as I'm done there is another worksheet or test to grade.  It never ends! 

My Messy house.  It is always a struggle with everyone home.  There is always a meal being prepared and dishes naturally follow.  I can't keep up, we can't keep up. It is just something I'm having to adjust to.

The homework battle ended but the schoolwork battle began! My one child that would prefer to do anything but schoolwork (book work) still feels pretty much that way.  I thought he would want to plow through each day and be done but that hasn't been the case yet.

Time.  My free time is totally 100% gone.  Most of the time I don't mind.  However there are times I would like to just have a day off or just go to breakfast.  That can't really happen to often or we don't get much done.

Judgey people. People have a lot of comments on socialization, learning and all sorts of things about our homeschool. It can be discouraging at times.

What are your loves and dislikes of homeschooling?