*long read, but thanks for those who stick around & offer solid advice*

To preface this: I really do not think that public schools are healthy places anymore for kids. It seems like they become more dangerous with each passing year, I have a lot of concerns and fears surrounding them in general, I can’t be swayed or have my mind changed on this.

Because of this, homeschooling has always been on my mind for my kiddos. My husband, however, seems to disagree, we *mostly* compromised: our kiddo would go to a GOOD charter/private/or Montessori school throughout the elementary years, and then middle school & high school we would swap to some type of home based online learning.

Well, kindergarten came around and I was having a HECK of a time trying to get him enrolled somewhere that was not purely a regular public school. Most places that I was hoping for had lottery systems and delayed acceptances. I eventually turned to scouring our public school options, only to find that the district boundaries of the schools in our city are very strict, and if you’re outside of the district, then, basically tough luck to you, you won’t be accepted in. After much trial and error, I found the ONE elementary school in our district (at the time) and it was the most ghetto school I had seen yet. Even my husband agreed, so we opted to homeschool for kindergarten and take a wait-and-see approach.

It started off fairly smooth, but then we had to move, and I became pregnant, and somehow, and sense of schedules or school importance really took a nose-dive. It started being a huge chore and a fight to get my little guy to focus on his learning, and it kills me to admit that I’ve failed. I’ve failed as being a homeschool mom. I was so excited and had so many plans for this, but life really got in the way.

The move was very very stressful, we didn’t seem to have a designated area for learning anymore, my pregnancy hit me with morning sickness quite badly, the kids were now adjusting to a new place, there was just a lot of stress overall. Schooling took backseat.

The year continued on, I’d like to think that although it wasn’t all “structured sit-down pencil learning” that my son still has developed a lot over this year. We’ve done a fair amount of math learning, and letter practice and early reading have been sporadic, but still continuing. I also have video & screen time be as educational as possible, read to the kids fairly often, and use any and all questions as teaching & learning lessons as much as possible. We’ve also done a lot of project work with house renovation, so there’s been that.

First grade is now fast approaching, and my husband has been reminding me about his schooling. I have him enrolled in a school that we both agreed on, but we’ve been waitlisted. That may or may not change by the time the school year starts. (We were actually waitlisted for the kindergarten year as well, but still hoped for the best, also, the waitlist is MUCH shorter now)

There IS a different *public* elementary school available and very close to us now, it’s much closer than the other school and *technically* would be a super convenient option. Since it is so close, and public, there should be zero problems getting him in. I’m at a crossroads of what to do for this upcoming year, my feelings on public school have not changed, but I also understand that, at least for the moment, homeschooling hasn’t been what I was hoping for.

What should I do? Continue to wait & hope we get accepted this year in the preferred school? Give homeschooling another shot? Or enroll in the public school and just take it one thing at a time?

Any *helpful, non judgmental* advice is welcomed and appreciated!