You might think that the children are the main ones to consider when thinking about home schooling, but that's not strictly true. The main burden and work of home schooling rests squarely on the shoulders of you, the parent. You are the one who will have to implement all the strategies and disciplines involved with the decision to home school and so if you fail, the futures of your children are at stake. To decide if you are prepared to home school your children you must ask yourself some pertinent questions.



* What is your personality type? Are you conscientious and well organized, or do you have notes written on scraps of paper all over the house? Are the bills filed into some sort of order or is there one in the bedroom and another sitting under that coffee mug? You'll need some sort of order to be able to organize the daily schedule of school at home.

* Or perhaps you are at the other extreme - a place for everything and everything in its place, with not a speck of dust in sight! Having your children home all day and working on various projects is bound to be a bit messy - maybe a lot messy. Will this drive your orderly spirit mad? Can you happily leave some of the housework to organize and oversee that school project? Can you live with fairly constant noise and clutter? If not, and you still would like to home school, see if you can keep one special room for school work and just shut the door on it at the end of the day.

* What are your daily habits? Do you like to sit up half the night and then sleep in till 11am? Being tired and sleepy is not good for getting those school lessons done in a happy and relaxed manner. Even though it is the children who will be doing them, you are the one who will be supervising. If you are tired and cranky most days, home schooling will not be a happy time for the children.

* Your spouse will need some consideration too. Is he or she likely to be on a job requiring night-shift? If so, will they need to sleep during the day? Unless they are a very sound sleeper, or you are good at keeping the children quiet enough to let them sleep, home schooling may not be the right decision for you as a family.

So are you prepared for home schooling? Don't despair if you've decided you are not, yet you still want your little ones to benefit from this type of education. These skills can be learned. If you are determined enough to do it, you can gradually put into place the disciplines you need to home school - and you may find you are a better person for it.