As I was searching for the right preschool for my 4 and 3 year old this summer I thought I
finally got lucky. When I was filling out the paper work I saw a BIG number
that would be due every month. Being a one income family with mortgage,
utilities, bills, and a car payment we couldn’t see how we could afford
preschool.
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| "MOM! I can see the ocean!" |
About 8
months ago I started thinking about homeschooling my kids. When I would
mentioned the word homeschool to others I would instantly get a lot of weird looks
and questions like “don’t you need a break?” and “Why?!” I even got a very
negative “You’re brave…” from someone. Of course none of this altered my
thinking. If I wanted to homeschool, I was going to homeschool darn it! With
major support from my husband, I felt I was on the road to success and no one
could stop me.
So when I
did the math and weighed the pros and cons of sending my kids to preschool vs.
homeschooling, the answer was clear as crystal.
Let me lay
it out for you…
Preschool:
Money~
Tuition $75 per kid
Monthly fee $125 per kid
Gas, driving to and from
Other fees; field trips, school t-shirt, etc.
Pros~
A schooled teacher, who knows what she’s doing and how to
teach kids
I would get a small break from 2 out of my 3 kids
Cons~
Cost
It’s over 20 minutes away
It’s only 2 and a half hours (a lot of money, little time)
~
Homeschooling:
Money~
Supplies (paper, crayons, markers, pencils, paint, printer
ink, etc.)
Field trip fees
Curriculum (work books, etc.)
Pros~
We don’t have to spend $250 a month of preschool
I don’t have to go shopping for school clothes, shoes or
backpacks
One-on-one learning
My kids won’t learn bad habits from other kids
I know 100% what is being taught
I can teach values, manners, etc.
I can teach them how to cook and do chores
Cons~
I don’t get a break
I only have a high school education
It’s a lot of work!
Personally
these are my reasons. Others may have different reasons. As I said before the
answer is clear as crystal. Homeschooling came out on top.
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| I made our decorations |
So I began
to prepare. I bought supplies, read a lot of positive (yet realistic) blogs,
sot out and asked questions from homeschooling mothers and did a lot of
googling. I’m very lucky to have a mother-in-law who owned her own preschool
for years. I also had to mentally prepare myself. I knew the first week or so
of school would be fun but the excitement would wear off eventually. I had to
find different motivations that worked for me.
I spent a
lot of time (and probably too much money) at my local craft store (I would buy
the whole store if I could). I did my best to shop around to get the best deals
on things. I ended up doing a lot of returning and exchanging. I also found my
local teacher supply store. And I found out I could not only spend all day in
that store but I could spend a lot of money there as well (I really had to
watch myself).
Google
became my new best friend. I found a ton of FREE pintables! Flashcards,
learning coloring sheets, etc. I also became a HUGE fan of Pinterest. I found most
of my crafts, tools and ideas on there.
Here are a
few of the many helpful sites I found with FREE printables:
My printer
has been working overtime. I've printed pages I've found online, worksheets I
created using Word, numerous ABC and 123 pages, plus I copy pages from
workbooks (so I didn't have to buy 2). If you are even thinking of
homeschooling then invest in a good printer. Having ours has saved us more
money then I think we realize...
So far my
kids love school. It did take some getting use to, but now they look forward to
learning time!
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| Counting with beans |
Michael’s favorite things are~
the calendar and weather wheel
writing and numbers.
Emily’s favorite things are~
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| Coloring |
coloring and crafts
snacks, story time.
We do school
Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and try to do it during Sam’s nap time on those
days. Here is a summary of our week:
Monday:
Calendar and
weather wheel
Letter of
the week coloring page
Letter of
the week worksheet
Seek and
find the letter of the week (find things that start with the letter of the
week)
Snack and
story
Number
worksheet
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| Seek and find letter of the week game |
Game/craft
Wednesday:
Calendar and
weather wheel
Activity worksheet
Sciences
Snack and
story
Number game
Craft
Friday:
Calendar and
weather wheel
Letter of
the week worksheet
Math
Writing
Snack and
story
Letter of
the week craft
Game
OR field
trip (once a month)
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| Our first field trip |
This is
really just a guide. Plans change and you go with it. Some days it flows
smoothly while other days do not. The kids (or myself) are in a bad mood and
listening is a challenge so we take a 10 minute break. But then we get back to
work. I’ve been doing this for over a month now and only a few days we ended
still in bad moods. Mostly it’s a happy and fun filled learning experience for
both myself and the kids.
I love being
able to spend one-on-one time with my kids. I love watching them get excited
about learning. I love how happy they are to tell others about their day and
show them their crafts and worksheets. Sometimes they surprise me with their skills
and knowledge. Soon they will be passing me up and I’ll be learning with them.
Until that day we are enjoying the fun of learning.
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| Watching two colors come together to make a new color |
Thanks to my
husband, my parents and my in-laws, I have the never ending support to keep me headed
on this amazing new chapter in my family’s life! Chad, without you my life
would not only be lonely but I wouldn’t even have the willingness to get out of
bed each morning. You have made me the strong, independent women I am today. If
it wasn’t for your unfailing support and love this would not have become a reality
in my life. Thank you!
