My husband was the only one who worked all our married life while I homeschooled our 5 children. We homeschooled them for over eight years. We lived a middle-class lifestyle in a middle-class neighborhood. We took vacations once a year like everyone else. They took sports and other activities while they were homeschooled.
It is not easy - you make many casseroles, go to many garage sales, many manager's sales (everything goes on sale at some time!) etc. But in your creativity - you find something you never thought about - a very special bonding with your kids. But God stretched our money and led us to great sales because we trusted Him. It was an adventure. And - it was great!
And many people who homeschool do the sacrifice out of love and conviction that they can give their children a greater perspective of life through their own journey in education.
As they learned - I learned also to see life through a child's excitement at discovery. And our memories are great! As we got involved in our community, politics, and church, they met the "movers and shakers" of the communities and were comfortable with all age groups. Our kids grew up to have a greater perspective on life than kids who only associate with their own age-level peers.
Yes - homeschooling is not easy - but like all great things - the hard work is definitely worth the effort!
Exactly - its a hard thing to do. All my posts were about was pointing out how sad I feel that many find the PS system so broken they have to leave it and do what is hardest. Maybe I was being too esoteric and people thought I was making light of homeschooling - I was not. I was lamenting the fact that homeschool is another burden that parents have to take on to protect and do right by their children. Also pointed out how no matter how much more it grows, homeschooling will still be a minority of the student body. Lastly, I am thinking out loud - how can we make the PS better?