I Feel Confident

About my decision to homeschool. =) I did some more research over the weekend. I finally found a book. (Went to McKays.) It had up-to-date information about the pros, cons, and differences between public schools, private schools, and homeschools. It is Christian based. And it has questions and quizzes that help lead to the right answer, based off your child. Then, in the back, it has chapters about how to make your decision happen. And then it has all the laws for each state on homeschooling. I think I am going to put her in a co-op so she has some time away from me and so she can learn from other teachers and spend time with other students. Then, in middle and highschool, I will probably let her do her core subjects online and electives at a college (for highschool). The online school is free. I would have died to be able to do that when I was in school so I could have the rest of the day free! She only has to go to school 4-1/2 hours a day. And I can count any regular volunteering we do as an elective. And she can get college credits by taking electives at the college. I can also take her on fieldtrips. (Which she will also go with a homeschool support group, but I can take her on some myself.) I can take her places like the post office to see how everything works. I can even take her to a different state. Jessie and I both want to take her to the US Mint when she gets old enough to understand it. Speaking of Jessie, I think I have him on my side. We went through the book. We did the quiz. (The Mom and Dad both feel one out.) And I told him about all the research I had done and why I chose homeschool, and he seems a lot more "for it" than he did before.

Here are the MAIN reasons I chose homeschool: 

1. Samantha is a "learn by myself" kind of child. In fact, she is very spiteful about it. I have been trying so hard to teach her her colors. I was so concerned because she was still saying everything was green, no matter how many times I corrected her. So, I stopped. I know how she is, so I figured she would learn them herself. The next day she went up to my older brother and he was quizzing her. (She LOVES to be quizzed.) And she named all the colors! Ugg! lol. 

2. Samantha is not a group person. And that is not because I have kept her home. She used to go to daycare, and even there, she was miserable. She did not like being around the other kids all day. She says they were mean. 

3. It offers flexibility to all of us. With Jessie going back to school and me trying to find a job from home or working night shift somewhere, we need that flexibility. None of us like the idea of 9 to 5. We are night people and we want to get the most out of our day. That is one reason I picked transcription. You chose how much you work. And after the first year or two you can do 8 hours worth of work in about 4. Plus, since Samantha will only have to attend school 4-1/2 hours a day, we will have more time to do things with the church or volunteer, anything really. 

4. She can work at her own pace and she can get ahead if she wants. Being able to take college classes as electives, which I know you can take college classes at Ringgold too, but I just really like the idea of having a more flexible schedule and not having to say, "Okay, well, they only teach this class 4th block and you need it." Etc. And if she is going to school online in highschool, she can pick when she does her work, day or night, whenever she works best. 

I am so excited about our decision. I think she will like homeschool. If not, then it's back to the drawing board.
Oh, we got Samantha's hair cut. It's real cute. I will post pictures later. The way the lady did it looked awful, like she had a mullet. So I went back through and chopped it all off. it is real short now, but I Love it and so does she.