The Freedom Of Homeschool

Waking up this morning, I realized it's November! I mean, I knew it was November... but whoa! It IS November and that means Winter, The Holidays, snow, cold weather, cookies, crafting, cabin-fever and all the good things (and some unpleasant) that go along with this season!

I've sort of laid off the blog for awhile. I went through a time of not wanting to "talk." Does this ever happen to you? For me, I felt overwhelmed as I jumped into a new season of new experiences. The need to evaluate without explanation was ever-present, and as we ventured through the Fall season, I didn't have answers.

Now I'm feeling a little more clarity, and I think I want to talk about our homeschooling experience thus far.

Homeschooling with Lucas has been (for the most part) incredibly fun. Honestly, it's often the best part of our day! Lucas will ask me when we get to do "schoolwork?" This warms my heart, immensely.

That being said, homeschooling can feel a bit like a beast... tame, as long as I don't over-think things too much. There are days when I think "we should be doing more," which lead to feelings of potential failure or maybe I'm not providing all the content he needs. In my heart, I know this is a total untruth. But homeschooling can seriously be a beast!

In full honesty, I felt completely overwhelmed at the start. I knew in my heart that this was the right decision for our family; for Lucas. The longer I sought out curriculum, structure, content, and advice, the more ill-equipped I felt. If there is one thing I can suggest to all parents out there: Do not look at ALL THE BLOGS and set that as an expectation for yourself. If you didn't feel overwhelmed or completely unqualified before, you will after reading blogs and websites that tell you how to do it. Just don't.

After a couple summer months of preparing, I finally decided to not choose a curriculum set. I realized that there is no "package" made for every child and the reason I am homeschooling Lucas is to provide an education that is good for HIM. I chose a base workbook that is a suited for general Kindergarten. This would ensure Lucas is getting all the content he would learn in Kindergarten classroom (it's vitally important to me that he get content he would get in a "regular" classroom, in addition to what we provide at home). This workbook is the smallest part of our homeschool experience, as I build on it with other content Lucas and I are interested in (Phonics, Reading Comprehension, Art, Music, Spanish...Volcanoes!). Once I released the idea of having to shape our homeschool experience to fit into a specific curriculum, the whole thing suddently felt feasible. If curriculum matched our needs, homeschooling felt doable in our home.

This free-thinking approach to homeschooling opened my eyes (and heart) to the possibilities that lay waiting for us as a family. The weight was lifted. When people ask me what we use as a guideline in our family I say: we are a little bit Charlotte Mason, Unschooling, Classical Education, and still evolving. Essentially, I finally understood that there are very few rules (outside of the rules we set for our own home) to being a homeschool family... and that felt great!

This mentality of freedom is a concept I'm attempting to extend into other areas of my personal life at home. The bondage of "I should be doing more" is something I've lived under for years... and honestly, I continue to fail at. That feeling of failure is just the worst, and as I've ventured into homeschool territory I decided I didn't want to bring that to the table. I'm still evaluating why I often think this way, and while I ponder this way of thinking, I'm working on saying "no thanks."

As I say "no thanks" in my personal life, I'm pushing this mind-set into raising our little human too. Letting him be a child. This feels like the best gift I can give him right now. Honestly, I'm not homeschooling Lucas so that he can be the best at everything. I'm homeschooling him so he can be the best version of himself and that means he's happy, free, secure, and understands he is deeply loved.

As we continue this journey of being a family, I'm continually reminded that we are constantly learning how to serve each other. Lucas will continue to learn how to be a human, and as his mother I will continue to evaluate how to teach, shape, and offer life-lessons. No two days look the same, nor should they. As I continue to learn how to educate my child, I too am learning more about myself. It's a great feeling!

Preschool Was Great!

Last week was Lucas' last days of preschool. It was a great experience for all of us, him especially. If given a second chance, I would have changed a few things... but overall, our little man benefited greatly from a few hours a day outside of the home (so did mama!).

It's cliche' but I just can't believe how much growth and maturing happens every year... it seems just a few months ago our little guy was still having tantrums, sleeping hours a day, and barely writing his name. Now we have a little reader on our hands who loves friendship and listens carefully to his elders.

School was beneficial for Matt and I, as it allowed us to see where Lucas was both emotionally and cognitively throughout the year. It gave us a glance at how he handles stress and social challenges. Granted, our little guy will continue to grow and change... constantly keeping us on our toes... but we have a better idea of who he is through circumstance and challenge.

If it were not for Lucas' teacher, I don't think this year would have been such a success. She paid special attention to each child, and it seemed nearly every day she would give me an update. Mrs. Candace was a gift, for sure... as she kindly and patiently discussed ways we could help Lucas over hurdles and give him a boost in character.

Matt and I are still exploring what it means to educate our child. As a family, we go the extra mile to ensure all of our values are being met. With that in mind, we want to be sure Lucas is being challenged, respected and being allowed to explore childhood in the best manner possible. Preschool was an excellent springboard into years of understanding what it means to learn.

Lucas friends!

Singing songs for family and friends. Exept Merit... he's just bugging his neighbor.

Lucas receiving his certificate of completion from Mrs. Candace and Miss Allysa (See that little girl in the blue... she's crazy. Can't trust that one!).

Home School Moms Are Insane

I have been mulling over this post for weeks now...this post about home schooling the kiddo. Yes, it's only preschool, but really it's me fully immersing myself in a willingness to teach Lucas the basics of reading, writing, and early education. And then... submitting this idea to our community (both in real life and online).

It's been a challenge for me to imagine how I would present home schooling without appearing insane/overbearing/overconfident/ignorant/lazy... the list could go on. I mean, we all know someone who is a home school parent and their a little off, right?

Then again, you have to be a little insane to be a parent in the first place.

It's important to be a socially aware parent and I highly value the vantage points of all my other parent friends. I look into their lives (who are all different) and seek the wisdom, intellect and maturity of their choices. In turn, I would hope my parent friends value aspects of how I raise my child too.


How we educate our children is definitely swayed by our social norms... by our peers. What we consider normal and acceptable, if often dictated by how we were raised and the things our friends deem as okay. Thankfully, I'm surrounded by all types. I have friends who are adamantly against home school... and they have valid reasons for that. In fact, I highly value their opinions. I am asking them to speak into my life and challenge me when necessary. I ask them to be the relationship that keep us in balance.

I have friends who have exclusively home schooled and have extensive experience out of the "system." I value their knowledge and will too seek their opinions. I will observe how they do school in their homes; what their "classroom" looks like and how they organize their schedules.

I have friends who do both home school and public school (charter). This provides their families with balance and allows the home teacher to focus on each childs' needs when necessary. The balance of peer learning and scholastic excellence is walked finely.

All of that being said, I recognize that we no longer have a formula of how school should be done (my beloved friend Summer said this), because we do not have children who are all the same. Every family has different values in education and to deem one better than the other is heading down a road that will only define and draw lines... this is not something I value. I accept we're all different (which is why life is so great!) and we all approach life from different angles.

That being said, I'm taking this on for one year... one year only. And when it comes time for Kindergarten, we'll reevaluate Lucas' needs as a growing, learning, developing person. We'll also reevaluate my ability to be a home school Mom (I'm willing to admit it's going to be gnarly some days). I ask you to challenge me, ask questions and provide support. I'm still pouring over blogs, curriculum and a way to familiarize myself to this life of home school.

Here goes nothing...we're headed into a little insanity!