Choice Made

The choice is made; the die has been cast, as they say. We have made our decision regarding schooling Little Bear for the upcoming school year. It will be at home. Papa Bear and I have been agonizing over this choice since October. Since the 5th week of the school year, the thought of homeschooling has been on my mind. I very nearly pulled Little Bear out of school that 5th week, I thought about it in November, and then again in March. This has been a long process, weighing the pros, the cons, and the stigma. We made a list of every benefit to leaving her in public school, weighed against being at home, alone. We talked at length of what was more important at this stage of her life, socialization, social skills, or self-esteem.

What it came down to, for us, was no child’s self esteem is worth waiting for the school to make a decision. Little Bear's self esteem is not worth waiting for other parents to take notice of their child’s hurtful behavior. She is our responsibility, and this is how we have chosen to take action. We did not step on this path blindly, or without thought. We do not go into this thinking it will be the easier choice, or the easier way. It is going to be a difficult road, with the majority of the work falling to me, I am fine with that. I am looking forward to it. What we hope to gain form choosing this more difficult journey is a lengthy list of attributes Little Bear is going to need to live in this world, and be happy.