homeschool after all

after much thought and consideration, sleepless nights, a few heated discussions, and many questions asked of myself, we have come to the decision to keep ezra home and continue on our homeschooling path.  we are not ready for ezra to be in school full time.  he will have a lifetime ahead of him of strict schedules and routines and we feel that this time of his life should be full of play, family, and fun.  he does need to socialize with other children, being the only child he is and not having any playmates nearby to play with.  and so we will enroll him in activities at the community center that will take place a few days a week in the afternoons.  we will have our mornings together, our meals together and our freedom together.  surely there will be lots of learning too as we spend our days together talking, creating, and living together.  i was attracted to the aspects of learning and socializing that would be provided by the montessori school, but feel confident that i will be able to provide good learning opportunities for him at home and socializing opportunities within the community.  when i look back at the last two months of our lives and my discontent with the way things were going for these aspects of ezra's life, i was able to see more clearly that we were in a state of upheaval and transition.  we moved across the country, i became pregnant, with that quite ill and unable to be the mother i usually am to ezra.  i thought a little time in a preschool environment that i trusted would be the answer for ezra.  perhaps if they were to have offered me two half days a week, we would try it out.  but, because it would be five days a week for more than half of ezra's waking hours in the day, i see more cons than pros to that arrangement.  this path of homeschooling that i have found myself on is one that i will probably always question, especially with ezra my first born child.  i am so grateful to the homeschooling movement that has paved the way for me because it is something i am getting more and more comfortable with each step of the way.  for now i am at peace with my decision to keep him home another year and leave you with this blog entry i found through an unschooling friend.  thank you shannon!