I Said I'd Never Homeschool

I swore I'd never do this.

You know, homeschool. As a teen and a newly-married 20-something, I'd envisioned myself someday having a family and eventually sending the kids off to school. I'd heard of homeschooling, but I knew I'd go crazy. I couldn't picture myself in the stereotype: denim jumper, half-a-dozen active children, trying to keep a home and my sanity.

Even once we had kids, I still always thought I'd find a good school, get involved and work a part-time job.

I'm learning, slowly, that things don't always work out the way we imagine.

We sent our daughter off to school, for two years at a school we love. (We're even sending our son to Kindergarten there this year.) But we watched our overly confident, take-on-the-world spunky child struggle a little. Sometimes a lot. She lost confidence in her reading and writing abilities. She depended on peers for too much of her own feelings. She became a timid follower instead of a cheerful leader.

With the help of amazing teachers and staff, we helped coax her through and she had plenty of great days. She did well academically and had lots of friends. But she still wasn't herself.

Which got us to asking (many, many times), what else could we do differently? Should we try a different school? Can we talk through more things at home?

And I started asking around. I started asking my homeschool friends.

Oh, my. I started considering homeschool.

But it all seemed like a distant option, a sort of plan B or C or even W. It wasn't until this summer that I started picturing myself actually doing this, actually homeschooling.

Why not, really? (Other than the taste of humble pie.)

I already knew several homeschooling families and I'd attended an info meeting by our local homeschool network. I had a list of curriculum and many of the benefits. Didn't it make sense to pull her out of traditional school for just a year to see if she could grow her confidence while learning?

So I thew myself into it. We went to an out of town homeschool curriculum store and dug through our options. I interviewed other homeschool moms, some I knew and some I didn't. We prayed. We talked through logistics. We researched some more.

Eventually, it just made sense.

Now, a month into school, am I glad I did this? Absolutely. Though there have been challenging moments (as I knew there would be), homeschooling has gone incredibly well. We're zipping through math, pouring through picture books and chapter books, taking field trips, doing art projects, and preparing for a science fair. We're writing, learning to research, taking a fun gym class at a local university and spending lots of time at the library.

We're learning together.

Together. That's been the biggest blessing. This precious one-on-one time with my spunky girl. I can already tell is bringing us closer together. She reaches out for my hand more and snuggles closer on the couch. She sasses less and helps out more. She's learning to play more independently, with me nearby in the room.

She doesn't worry about what other kids think. She's not struggling to keep friends happy during the day. There's time for learning. Time with mom. And still playtime with other friends later in the day or weekends.

I'm glad we chose homeschooling for her this year. I'm thankful to be walking with her on this journey. Hopefully the next eight months will go as well.