I'm a dad who is considering homeschool... Have lots of ??

[looking4zion]

Hello. My wife and I have a 3 year old and a newborn and we are considering our options for school. We are still a year and a half away, but have decided it's time to start weighing our options.

First a brief history to explain our situation: until recently we had always assumed public school was our only option. We are a dual income home amd we live (like most in this economy) without much room for choice. A recent turn of events has motivated and helped us to become financially stable and even helped us to get ahead. Now that we are in a better position, recent news along with many other considerations, has lead us to think about, and strongly consider, home school.

Now, to make this possible, my wife (who makes more money) will have to continue to work while I leave my job to stay at home and teach our kids. Now we still have a year and half to make this decision, but want to ask all the right questions in the meantime. The following questions are only the ones that we have thought of at this point, so we need help in even knowing "what are the right questions to ask?"

1. Are there other SAHD's (stay-at-home-dad)who homeschool?
2. Aside from all of the other "getting-started" questions (we've already been doing a fair amount of research and feel confident in the act of actually getting started), what should I be prepared for as a father who is going to homeschool?
3. Will my local homeschool group be able to provide the support that I may need as a man who decides to stay at home to school his children?

In short, most of my questions center around breaking the accepted norms of society not only by choosing to homeschool (which is hard enough in itself), but also because of the gender related stigma that comes along with it. I can't really find anything online that is specific to, or even somewhat centered on being a homeschool father. All the resources I find about dads are in a support role for a stay at home mom who homeschools.


Thanks in advance to anyone who may be able to offer help.

looking4zion

[hscoach]

1. Yes, there are other dads who homeschool their kids.
2. I think you should prepare to homeschool just as a mom would.
3. Yes, I think your local homeschool group should be able to give you support. If for some reason they don't, choose a different group.

Here are some links that should be helpful for you:

http://voices.yahoo.com/exclusive-inter ... 49090.html

http://dave-homeschooldad.blogspot.com/

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/weblinks/dads.htm

You might be in the minority, but you should still do what is best for your family. If you choose, for example, to be a part of a homeschool co-op (academic classes that usually meet once a week), I believe the other moms who attend would fully accept you. You could teach classes just like they do, etc. I don't think it would be a problem at all. Protect your kids and follow your heart. I think it's great that you are in a position financially where you can do it.