Letter of Intent: Starting the Homeschool Journey

Hi! It's Jilly. Today I did something huge. I sent in my Letter of Intent to HOMESCHOOL next school year!! Aah! I'm a bit nervous and scared, but also really excited.

I'd been thinking about homeschooling for years, but it never seemed like quite the right time. This summer I decided to do a "trial run" to see if we make it work (and, you know, have the kids listen to me).  I've been researching different curriculums and homeschooling styles, having school with the kids every morning. (Okay, not every morning.) 

I'd been praying and praying to know if homeschooling was the right thing for our family. I was about 87% sure that we would homeschool this Fall, but I wanted to be 100%. (How's that for making up statistics on the spot?!) I was reading through a thread in the LDS Homeschool group on Facebook and something one of the other moms said really struck me.

She said,

I've wanted to homeschool since before my oldest started K. But every year, I felt a great deal of anxiety, and as much as I had the desire, I just never felt it was right.

This year, for the first time, I feel the time is right. I have no anxiety, no regret, no worry, no fear. I feel calm and peaceful. I also have no desire to "get the kids out of the house!".

As soon as I read that I got all choked up and I knew it was my answer! Every year by this point in the summer I have been at the end of my rope and counting down the days until school started again. But this year I have felt very "zen" about it and have been enjoying my time with the kids. As we've been working on their school work there has been a "flow" to everything.

Now, I'm not saying that every minute has been magical (It hasn't), and I understand that everything won't go smoothly all the time, but I do know that this is the right thing for our family at this time. I'm still trying to figure out what curriculum I want to use for each subject. I hear that can take some time as the kids "detox" and get used to learning in a different way.

So, wish us luck as we start on this amazing journey of homeschooling!

WHY are we homeschooling? Stay tuned for another post where I'll talk about all the many reasons we've chosen to teach the kids at home.  Sign up for my newsletter, or follow me on Facebook to catch the next post!