Homeschool or Traditional (WWYD) -long-

[bebemooneedsabreak]

Background:
Based in S.Wales
Dd (2yo)
dc2 on the way
Me SAHM
Dh a contractor, so moves around from job to job. Ideal because he gets bored easily with jobs and the money is good.
We have an 'unstable' life with moving around to visit him during the weeks or going to different countries for terms of the contracts...not seeing/being together is not really an option as we're codependent miss each other and get stressed when we don't see each other, plus dd really loves to be with him too and gets quite cranky when we end up being away from him (we've had times where visiting during the week was just not possible)
Dh and I both had rather neutral to negative experiences with school and talked abt (even before kids) possibly homeschooling as we felt the opportunities for personal growth higher for students in hs (as you can tailor learning more) plus they'd be less likely to get bored (which happened to both of us). I felt quite capable/exciting of teaching our kids.
Family has been very negative toward this idea (we have teachers on both sides who feel very strongly about school...) saying you'd just not be able to do enough for them, and that we were being naive. ILs also said we just need to 'settle' and think about what we're doing to our kids moving around so much...
Because of our lifestyle traditional schooling would mean being apart during the weeks at least...not ideal...and having more 'stable' life which would make (at least) dh and I unhappy -hard to say yet how the kids would feel about it- The likelihood would be that dh would end up going permanent to be closer/around during the week (and be miserable with monotony) and I'd have to also get some sort of job to make up the loss in pay.
We recognise that our school experiences color our feelings about school. And that our desire to have a slightly less traditional set up 'in the house' is based on our own desires to move around a bit and not be miserable in work...
However, we don't want our children to miss out on things (friends, socialising, being a 'part' of something), and fear making them 'outsiders.'
We're thinking that IF we were to put them in traditional school we'd want to move to the countryside/mountains (so in the next 2-3 years) and get settled. If we weren't we'd still likely move, but would be less worried about being near a good school.

SO:

1. would you HS or Traditional school in our position?
2. would you move to be close to a good school 'just in case' -but knowing that travel/commuting time for DH would greatly increase (thus time away)
3. would you 'stay put' in a less than ideal home and continue to 'move' around as dh's jobs entail

We're really back and forth about this and your ideas and opinions will hopefully give us additional things to consider and help solidify our feelings.

Yes, I know it's blunt but I know OP well from AN group and I actually think she'd be very unhappy if she went down this route. Prepared to take flak.

Does HE require lots of external liason?

Actually, I see you are on education (probably safe)-I thought you were on HE and in for a pasting!

"Does HE require lots of external liason?"

Depends on the kid.

My older daughter was the most sociable person I have ever met; it was apparent from babyhood. It was obvious to me that my number one job as her parent was going to be providing her with opportunities to be with other people. School wouldn't have cut it for her: when she was five she much preferred big kids, she liked to play with one or two kids intensively for hours without the distraction of dozens of other children around, and besides she wouldn't have been content to stop playing and talking (did I mention that the child never stopped talking?!) in order to work quietly on her own or listen to the teacher. Anyway, in the early years I put a lot of effort into keeping her happy by taking her out all the time to where the people were. I'd describe myself as quite an introvert, but that didn't stop me doing it. Loving parents do manage to do difficult things when their children need them to, like getting up in the night when their baby cries. Now she's eleven and can more or less sort everything out for herself; I just remind her where she's arranged to go and shell out for bus fares.

Her little sister? Well, she's a different kettle of fish. She's nearly five and has only recently begun to show the least interest in playing with anyone outside the family. She's still happy playing twice a week in the park for an hour with random kids. Besides, she has her big sister whom she adores. I have no doubt she'll want a bit more time with other kids as she gets older. But, you can cross these bridges as you come to them.

I don't see any reason to anticipate problems until they arise. If what you are doing isn't working for your children, you can change it. A six month contract is not exactly a lifelong commitment.