I am so EXCITED! There isn't even words for this excitement and the gratitude I feel right now!
At Jessica's suggestion, I started contacting local homeschooling groups. And once I got started, I realized there are A LOT! Some are not THAT CLOSE... but some are really close! Within an hour, I had four responses! Some people lived an hour away but have girls the same age as mine and invited us to meet up at a park or the beach in between! One woman offered to contact other homeschoolers she knows that are more local to me to find out about co-ops and things in my area and also to see if they would be available to meet up at the park or the beach! Another mom lives far, but has girls the exact ages of mine and her grandparents live in the town I grew up in (not far from here) and she suggested a local park to meet up in! Another mom (not far from here) said that they are winding down for the summer, but that she is SURE that if she puts the word out, she can get a group together so that we can meet some people. They all encouraged me to join the free email lists all over the state so that we can make as many friends as possible, and a lot of times, there may be an outing in an area say an hour away, but if it was something the girls were interested in...why not?? I just can't believe the overwhelming support and response! It really warms my heart! I am very excited!
Jason and I had another discussion and he said that since I am the one who works part-time, I would be the one who did a lot of the homeschooling "work", so ultimately the decision is mine, but he hopes that I decide to do it. He also said that he knows that if I decide not to do it, it would be because I thought it was best for our family. But, ultimately, after reading and researching and talking to people (he has a lot of clients that are familiar with homeschooling that he has spoken with), he feels that it's a great opportunity and he would be more than happy to help out wherever needed.
A also expressed that she wants to do it next year. She feels confident that she can keep her friends, but that the opportunities she will have if she does it will be greater than not doing it.
P is our little holdout. She changes daily on the idea of homeschooling. She has a best friend since kindergarten. I have assured her that we can still get together with this friend. She says it won't be the same. And she is probably right. But I am hoping that by meeting some homeschoolers, she may feel better about it. She also points out (on days when she is all for it) that our neighbors homeschool and she and C get along great!!
We are not making any final decisions until after we get together with some homeschooling families and see how that goes! But right now I am just overwhelmed with the support I have received in the last couple of hours!
