How does it affect the rest of the family?

I have been thinking a lot about how homeschooling Fionn affects the rest of the family, and how NOT homeschooling the rest of the family affects how I homeschool Fionn.

The biggest way it has affected us is that Nicholas and Fionn have a lot of time together.  Fionn is nine years older than Nicholas, and I have always been concerned about how close they will be, relationally, given that age difference.  To put it in perspective, Nicholas will be a 4th grader when Fionn leaves for college.  He will be 9.  I think it is so nice for them to have this daily relationship that most siblings with their gap don't have.  It establishes such a nice foundation for their future relationship.

Nora says wants to be homeschooled too. Mostly, I think she just craves the "mommy time" she would have if she were homeschooled.  Privately, I just don't know if I could homeschool Nora. Probably could, but would be much different from homeschooling Fionn. She is not as focused. However, she does crave "mommy time" and this would certainly be a way to do it. Maybe someday. We talk about the friendship issue when she brings it up.  We point to all the friendships Fionn would not have if she hadn't gone to school for elementary school.  This seems to make sense to her.


An unexpected bonus: a babysitter! She is available at home to watch Nicholas if I have appointments.  She can adjust the timing of her school work and it works out great.  I like a little more freedom, she likes the money, still has plenty of school time and leisure time. Everyone wins.

One thing that has become glaringly clear since starting to homeschool Fionn is that Nicholas needs to be in preschool so Fionn and I have more focused time.  He really just needs to be in preschool for himself.  He has been begging to go to school since September.  I ended up finding him a spot at a nearby preschool for two mornings a week.  He starts next week.  I think this will help him a lot, and it will give Fionn and I time to focus on material that requires me to sit down and work through with her.  There isn't too much of that at the 6th grade level, but I feel like there could be a lot more than I currently do, if we didn't have the constant interruptions of a three-year-old. 

I will use another post to explore how NOT homeschooling the rest of the family affects how I homeschool Fionn.