Written by Jamie Martin, editor of Simple Homeschool and writer at Steady Mom

I often write that homeschooling is not for the faint of heart–it always takes courage to choose a different direction from the majority. And though there are serious benefits to the lifestyle we’ve chosen, there are also sacrifices we make when we decide to home educate.

Recently Weiyun Lee asked this question on my Facebook page:
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The following is a guest post written by Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy.

I was ready to quit.

I originally chose to homeschool because I thought it was absolutely the best decision for my kids. I wanted them to have the excellent education, individualized curriculum, and flexible schedule that homeschooling could provide.

But last spring, I found myself wondering if it was the best decision for me.

For the past two years, I’ve been homeschooling my 4 kids–ages 9, 7, 5 and 2. But I’m also a writer, and work part-time in my pre-kids field. As we neared the end of our second year of homeschooling, I found myself intensely dissatisfied with its opportunity cost. Sure, my kids were getting a great education–but I felt like I was giving up too much of myself to make it happen.

I felt frazzled, and with 4 kids, my house was never quiet for a moment. Meanwhile, I was daydreaming about all the things I could be getting done if I repurposed the hours I was spending homeschooling: all the time I would have to write, all the ambitious projects I could tackle.
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Written by contributor Lora Lynn Fanning of Vitafamiliae

A note from Jamie: This post originally published on August 8, 2011. Pinterest has grown substantially since then, and has become a popular spot for keeping track of homeschool inspiration! You can find Lora Lynn’s boards here and follow mine here if you’re so inclined. Enjoy!

Pinterest is the latest darling of social websites. It allows you to “pin” or bookmark pictures and posts that inspire you. You can then organize them into categories, creating your own lovely online bulletin board.

For homeschool moms that crawl the internet looking for craft ideas or inspiration, it’s the perfect way to keep up with each new page without creating a million bookmarks in an already crowded folder.

You can create a board for art ideas, one for curriculum favorites, and another for schoolroom inspiration.

Once you’ve pinned an item, just click on it again to be taken to the website where it originated. (Important note: if you pin items from a website or blog, make sure you are pinning from the specific post and note the entire site. Otherwise, you may not be able to find the information you wanted to save.)

Pinterest is also searchable, which means if you are on the hunt for a specific thing, like valentine crafts, you can easily find a myriad of ideas to spark your own creativity.

With the new school year ahead, here are a few ideas gleaned from Pinterest that might help you decorate your school room:
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