I home-schooled Kobe. He's the second of my three sons. I don't know if home-schooling is right for you or if it is even right overall. I believe there are multiple routes to happiness and fulfilment. There is no wrong or right way to provide education for your children.

Kobe began home-schooling in September of 2017.  It had been weighing heavy on my heart since 2015 to spend as much time as possible with my last two children. When my oldest Michael graduated, it made me realize the old adage that "time really does fly fast'. The reality was becoming all too close to the heart. How can I maximize my time as a parent bringing up my children to the best of my ability? In a lifetime, raising kids is but a small sliver of your life. 

So I took the dive. I do admit the first semester of home-schooling I did hover over Kobe doing his schoolwork. I wanted to know how intense it was and if he was on the right track. Would the material be hard or easy for Kobe? In a way, I was also assessing the curriculum. Was it easy or difficult? Would I, an adult be able to pass it? Were the online classes user-friendly?

I found that some of the subjects’ questions were trickier than others. Math and English were more straight-forward while History/Geography and Science were more complex. I failed multiple tests on History even after reading all the material, completing the section exercises, and taking the practice quizzes. We were very fortunate to have a great teacher that worked with Kobe on changing the curriculum for Science and History while keeping the traditional route for Math and English. 

Secondly, I was taken aback by his study and note-taking habits. They were non-existent. We developed a system of reading, note-taking, and responsible, smart test-taking. He knew when his assignments were due and he would log in everyday to complete them.