Staying Home

This fall our family took the plunge, we raged against the system (not really) and decided to keep all the children home. It was a bizarre decision, I must admit. I have never had an issue with preschool, go or don't go, I really don't care. Hadleigh Claire started attending one day a week when she was 18 months old. I had not realized preschool started this early, but it was a great option for us at the time (since I was about to have my hands full with the birth of my Annelise). The next two years HC attended two days a week, and last year Annelise attended one day. It was awesome. I enjoyed it.

I loved the school they attended, it was small and intimate (last year HC had 4 other kids in her class and there were 5 kids in Annelise's class. The girls enjoyed it too. And they were going with their friends as many of the kiddos in their classes attended Intown. But this past winter when I realized there was only one option for HC as a 4-year old/pre-K, I began to question my decision to send her to preschool.

Dave and I wrestled with the decision all spring because it is really hard to make a decision from 8 months out which is what you have to do when you register your kids in February for something that will begin in September. In any case by the time summer hit I had pretty much decided to keep the girls home with me this year...we just had to wait until True was born to make our final decision.

I have had many mixed reviews over our decision which amuses me. Keeping the girls home has been the right decision for our family, and I totally understand it might not be right for everyone. We have a "unique" situation it seems. Dave gets home from work by 5, and has Fridays off. He is a super Dada and I have a lot of help from him. If he had a different work situation I might have made a different decision.

Even my pediatrician commented the other day, "Wow, so you don't get a break!" It kinda made me laugh, why are we all so focused on getting a break...like it is the ultimate reality. I mean getting a break is a great thing, and a fun luxury, but not always necessary. And for this year we have decided keeping all the kiddos home is more important than getting a break.

Folks also assume that either I am planning on eventually homeschooling the children, or that I am currently homeschooling for preschool. No and no. I was homeschooled, God love my mother, I have NO idea how she put up with me all those years...ugh...and I have sworn ever since that I would rather die than homeschool my children. While I am not so sure I necessarily feel that same way these days, I do not necessarily plan to homeschool my children. I will not rule it out, but I am not die hard for it. And the thought of homeschooling my preschooler makes me giggle. Why would I do that? One of the main reasons I did not send HC to preschool was because I did not think she needed such school-like structure at such a young age...there is plenty of time for that later.

The other thing people have mentioned is that I should send HC for the socialization. I am still trying to determine what I think about that. I am not sure why we all think this is so important. I mean there are all sorts of weird people out there...some of them were homeschooled and some of them went to preschool. So...I am not sure why we think socialization can only happen in school.

All that to say, we are staying home and loving it. We are reading a TON of books which is SO fun for me. I ordered a bunch of books this summer, books about weather and nature and science, books with folk tales from around the world, and fun books like Dr. Doolittle. We have gone to the zoo, and to the library, and on walks, and we have just enjoyed staying home and doing laundry.

I love it, and now I must run and read to my little girl.