Why we chose to switch to homeschooling Part IV

So how did God take me from being fearful about homeschooling to being excited about it in ONE WEEK?

Well in *Part 3* I shared about some initial conversations with some friends, but the truth still remained that I felt ill-equipped and hesitant as to what it actually looked like. I am an unlikely homeschooler in so many ways (in my mind at least), so how would this actually happen? What were the ins and outs of the daily to-do’s with homeschooling?

But I was moved enough to begin researching what it COULD be, and that’s when the beauty began.

I found a few resources simply through googling the worldwide web that helped me gain a basic understanding of the different approaches to homeschooling. I’ve linked all the resources I’ve found helpful below in case you’d like to see them!

Initially upon my research – I was shocked! I had no idea there were so many different approaches! So as I began learning about each one, the Lord made it pretty clear which direction we should take as we begin. The ability to customize it to our family was refreshing, and I began discussing it more with Nick.

As my research continued (more on that in another post as to the approach we chose), so did the conversations with family and friends.

Literally in a matter of days, I was confident that homeschooling was what we were supposed to do. The Lord was so sweet to confirm it in my heart and help me feel this confidence!

But my husband, Nick? He wasn’t there yet. It wasn’t something Nick ever envisioned our family doing, so he hesitated. Plus, he wasn’t doing the research I was doing, so it made sense that he didn’t share my excitement yet. Although I was ready to begin immediately, I can now see how God calmed me down a bit through trusting the process of Nick’s own heart getting there. That was good for me, too.

So, what happened next? Well, Nick began having conversations himself with men he respected, both who homeschool and who do not, and within a few days time, God used those men to confirm to Nick that if I was 100% on board with it, he should probably trust that God was moving our family in that direction due to the fact that I would be the main one involved in the day to day of our homeschool. It took a few days longer than me, but really, just in a matter of a few weeks – God confirmed our decision to switch in both of us, and we were able to move forward unified in the decision!

God was so good to align our hearts together on this. If you’re in a similar place of being in a different place with your spouse on a decision, trust the Lord’s timing. Keep praying and waiting and encouraging your spouse to seek counsel from others he respects in his life. And trust the Lord, friend. He is faithful!

If you’d like to know more about the resources that helped me move forward in understanding the various approaches to homeschooling, I’ve shared them below, with brief snippets on each and why I recommend them to others. I hope you find them helpful!

If you’ve got some time to watch a video, this one is so helpful. It’s literally the first thing I watched when I googled different approaches to homeschooling. Anything Sonya shares always simplifies and helps me to feel more equipped. I highly recommend you check out her 5 flavors of Homeschooling, which includes a quiz to help you decide which flavor you prefer.

If you’d prefer to read through some approaches, here’s an article of an overview that I found helpful.

In your planning and research, Consider: Not just your kid, but yourself. Here’s a blog post by Pam Barnhill that encourages you regarding this.

My favorite read for overall perspective about curriculum, and what matters most is Sarah Mackenzie’s Teaching from Rest. I plan to reread this every year to refocus me.

Although I don’t use this specific resource because of what my chosen curriculum provides, I’ve looked through it and find it to be very helpful to anyone piecing together curriculum from multiple places: Plan your Year by Pam Barnhill.