I'm a mom of 4 and my kids have been in public school, private school, and been homeschooled. Here's how we decided which is best.

• I'm a mom of four kids ranging from teen to first grade.
• I had preconceptions about homeschooling and private schools before having kids of my own.

My husband and I have four kids, currently ranging from a teen down to a rising first grader.

I never thought I'd be the parent who chose to homeschool. I am a former teacher, but I taught college students. Teaching at the university was significantly different and, dare I say, easier than teaching my own child. Like many, I also held some homeschooling stereotypes from my childhood. The kids I knew who were homeschooled had incredibly strict families.

But as parents, we also know that it's our job to do what's best for our kids. And that's how we ended up having our kids in private, public, and homeschooled.

We homeschooled for different reasons

I opted to homeschool my 5-year-old during the pandemic while I was also dealing with breast cancer. It was safer for me — since I was immunocompromised at the time — to keep my youngest at home.

But this wasn't my first homeschooling stint.

Years prior, I'd homeschooled my then fourth-grader after the school refused to recognize their learning disability. We had already battled the school, begging them to issue our child an IEP, for nearly two years. One day, I'd simply had enough, looked up our state's homeschooling guidelines, and promptly withdrew my child from school.

I liked our seasons of homeschooling, but it meant sacrificing a lot. Homeschooling is time-consuming. Not only that, but I had to take time away from working as a freelance writer, and we all know that time is money. Homeschooling two of my kids during different times of their lives was absolutely the right choice, and I'm grateful we had the option of such a privilege. However, I didn't desire to homeschool long-term, and neither did my kids want to remain homeschooled.

We also did private school for some of our kids

After three months of homeschooling, I enrolled my incoming fifth grader and their younger sibling in a local, private school. Again, I thought this was something I would never do. Private schools have a reputation for being uppity and full of cliques. How would my kids fit in? How would we merge into that community as parents?

The reality is that we were desperate to find a safe, accepting, and understanding learning space for our child, who had been struggling and spiraling downward for years. Luckily, the private school we selected turned out to be a wonderful decision. Both kids who enrolled there were not only surviving but thriving. The smaller class sizes turned out to be a tremendous help. Not only did our kids flourish academically, but they were embraced with open arms.

We have 2 kids in private school and 2 kids in public school

As we approach the fall and back-to-school time, we have enrolled two kids in two different private schools and two kids in two different public schools. We have made school selections carefully, considering each child's needs, disabilities, and personalities. Having experienced all three — private, public, and homeschooling — I can absolutely tell you which is best.

The best schooling for your child is what you decide is right, affordable, and doable for that child at this moment. There are pros and cons to every schooling option, and one isn't better than the other by default — and definitely not based on stereotypes. The most important decision is to make peace with whatever schooling option works for your child. What anyone else thinks is none of your concern. Walk in confidence, and cheers to your child's success — whatever that looks like.