[atlantic]

What makes you believe your children would benefit more from being home-schooled by their father than from going to school like ordinary youngsters?

I understand they will receive more attention from you than from their teachers, but OTOH they will be exposed to a single point of view (yours) and to a much narrower social circle than they would otherwise.

You hardly give your children a mention. Is this about them or about you?

[futuredivorcee]

I was trying to keep focused on the question rather than my personal feelings; of course it's about the kids. But I didn't think everyone on HN needed to hear about my feelings.

[pavel_lishin]

You're reticent to speak on some topics, which is your right, and I won't prod you about the reason you want to do things a certain way. I'd love to know why you want to keep homeschooling your kids and working four hours a day, but that's your business, not mine - and you've made your parameters clear.

Under those parameters, an alternative you might want to consider is hiring a tutor for your children, or forming some sort of cooperative with other parents who feel the same way you do. This would give you the flexibility to be more employable, while keeping to the spirit of your desires.

[futuredivorcee]

Okay, I was trying to have a discussion on the logistics of raising our children the way we agree is best without defending that way — but I understand; we're humans, and humans want to dig deeper. So here goes:

My eldest daughter has a lot of autistic tendencies and is an unusual learner, but brilliant. I don't want to have her put in a situation where all the things that make her different and wonderful have to be put in a box that was made for someone else. My middle girl is a dancer. She's really good, and she loves it! Homeschooling has let us get her lots of extra opportunities without it taking up all the time we have; we can do more dance without compromising her education or her time to play and be a kid. My little boy isn't old enough for school yet, but I can already see he's going to be a riot to watch. With his work ethic and his determination, he'll thrive no matter what. Selfishly, I want to get to see more of his development than I would at school, but he'll be fine.

In addition to that, they're accustomed to it, and from what they know of school, they would prefer to continue at home. Since I know divorce is unsettling, I don't want to inflict any more changes than are already necessary.

[pavel_lishin]

Sorry. I was trying to give you advice without explicitly prying.

I honestly think that regardless of what your answer would have been, you're going to feel very overwhelmed trying to pull what are likely going to be 16 hour days with few breaks. Your best case scenario is that your work is going to suffer. Is a tutor a viable option? Or working together with other home-schooled kids?

[hardly_a_mirage]

Sorry to prod further, but I feel a lot of us are thinking the same question. How do you plan to provide an active social life to your children where they can grow up to confidently socialize among friends and strangers in their daily lives?