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The Homeschool Decision

Is It a Viable Alternative for
Your Grandchild?

By Teri Brown

"You want to what?" This is generally the first reaction when grandparents hear their grandchildren will be schooled at home. The next question is generally, "Why?"

Your children may have some very good reasons as to why they wish to homeschool their children. The motives causing people to homeschool are as varied as the people who homeschool. Your children may have a religious reason, or maybe their school district is a particularly poor one. Perhaps they want to spend more time together as a family than school allows. Maybe one of your grandchildren has learning issues the parents feel would be better addressed at home.

Whatever the reasons, chances are your children have done their homework before making the decision. Plus, there is far more homeschooling support and information than there used to be, and if you take the time to listen, you will probably be surprised at how much research your children have done.

Karen Gibson, a homeschool mom of three from Danville, Ala., remembers that her stepmother wasn't very happy about their decision to turn the living room into a classroom. "My stepmother, whom we told in person, was not happy at all," Gibson says. "Since she worked as a school counselor in the middle school at which our daughter would have attended, she seemed to take our decision as a personal attack upon her workplace, her career, her school. She was also rather upset that we had not discussed the matter with her prior to making our decision."

The Gibsons had known in advance that Grandma wasn't going to be too happy about their decision, but preferred to make their own decision based upon what they felt was right for their children, not on how other people felt about their choice.

Want to see more?

• Homeschooling: Leaving the System to Create Your Own
• Tailored to Fit: The Challenge of Homeschooling Multiples
• The Best of All Worlds: Eclectic Homeschooling
• Check out our Article Library.
• Talk about it!