Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Stay at Home Mom - Could I do it?




 Since I have had my children I have constantly, as in everyday Monday through Friday between the hours of 7:00am and 6:00pm, contemplated being a stay at home mom. When they were younger it felt harder. Or maybe I have just gotten used to leaving them. Homeschooling is something I have become interested in through reading homeschooling blogs and having the opportunity to work in a primary school.  After my maternity leave I took a job at a K-12 here in Casablanca. I was the EFL specialist, the pay was ok and the vacation was great. It was a HUGE adjustment to leave them every day to return to work, BUT I finished at 4pm and always had the promise of one day being able to integrate them into that school. That school is more expensive that any school I would ever consider enrolling my children in…so the fact that they would be mostly free was a big plus of the job HOWEVER that school like all of the other Anglophone schools here in Casa had major discipline problems. My colleagues were some of the most passionate, caring, creative people I have ever met. They were invested. They were there early and left late and those kids were THEIR business. EVEN still it was through working at that institution that I started to understand that there is no direct correlation between price and quality in education. The most quality education you can give your child is an education that involved student led knowledge and skills acquisition and an education that nurtures the child’s particular learning style. This is why homeschooling is an issue that I contemplate everyday as my children hurl towards school age. I know I can teach my kids better than anyone else…

NOW this is the thing and bring us back to the title of the post, Could I be a stay at home mom? I romanticize it, but would the reality of it suit me?  Would I feel lost and lazy? Would I want to dress up and get away? Would I start creating outings for us that involved other mothers that were supposed to be for the kids but were really just a social outlet for me? I think the answer to all of those questions is YES. Yes BUT. Yes but I would adjust. I might feel lost at first, but I think if I laid out a quarterly schedule with learning goals and outings and what not that I could easily fill every of all of our days educating my children, writing on this blog, toiling in my garden and cooking for my family…
The reality is though; we are not in a position for me to do this. BUT maybe…maybe one day part time work will come along…who knows. I just know that I am curious…very.


3 comments:

Marie Loerzel said...

Oh my your girls are adoreable! And yes, you can do it. Follow your heart.

A Brilliant Life said...

Thanks for the support on this. Have you ever considered it? Did you consider it before moving here?

Wholia said...

My sister's high school classmate writes a great blog about homeschooling her daughter. There is a great story of loss of faith in the american public education system behind it all, so I suggest starting at the beginning. I think you'll enjoy the lesson ideas as well as her account =) It's called Educating Casia.

http://educatingcasia.blogspot.com/