by Victoria Tiegert

Created on: January 09, 2009

Home schooling was once the standard education for most families. After public schools began providing quality education for our children, this became a rarity, a thing of the past. Recently, however, we are seeing an increase once again in the number of families that are opting to educate their own children at home, rather than hand them off to an already over-crowded, understaffed school.

The single parent is no different in their desire to see their children succeed in life, starting with their academic pursuits. The decision to home school your children is one that should be made carefully, especially if you are going to be doing it alone, but it can be done. Determination and organization go a long way for the single mother in most areas of her child-rearing, so this is nothing new to them. It is one more task that they are taking on because they feel that it is the best thing for their children.

Although I am not a single parent, I do home school my children and I do it alone. My husband's career as a pilot keeps him away from home four days a week, so most of the childrearing, including their education, falls to me solely. If I had to work outside the home at a full-time job, I am sure that it would be challenging, if not impossible, to do both. That is one thing to give careful consideration to if you are still deciding whether home schooling will work best for your family.

There are pros and cons to almost every decision that you make as a parent. The following is a short list of some of the things that you may want to consider as you look at your child's academic options.

PROS

*You will spend more time with your child and therefore build a different relationship with them than those who spend the day in the public schools system.

*Your schedule will be much more flexible.

*You will save money on some things, such as school lunches, various school fees, school supplies, and other variables that come up throughout the year.

*You can decide if something in the curriculum does not agree with your belief system or morals.

*You can usually decide which curriculum you want to use from a list found suitable in your state.

*There are many life lessons that you can incorporate into home schooling that public schools don't cover.

*Emotional and peer pressures are certainly lessened, if not eliminated entirely, in the home setting, which can make your parenting experience as a single mother easier in the long run.

CONS

*If you are also working outside the home, you may feel

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