Homeschooling: Our Beginning

Although my go-to posting fodder tends to be food (okay, food involving chocolate, let’s be honest), I’ve missed writing about teaching, something that is so very dear to my heart. And right now, I’m teaching at home.

I’d love to share a little bit about why we’re currently homeschooling and why we love it!

I think all homeschooling families have a different story. I also think that all of them have a huge variety of reasons for choosing a homeschooling lifestyle. Before we began, I did mountains of research and found that some of those reasons can be (but aren’t limited to!):

• a mobile lifestyle, where one or more parents move locations frequently for work, making public schooling difficult
• children with special needs flourishing at home
• freedom of religion and curriculum
• holistic learning goals
• safety of children in high-crime areas
• financial situations that make public school more difficult

I found even more, but to go on could get extraneous.

I am a former public school educator, and still hold a current license. I took my dream job in a third grade classroom several years ago, and I loved it. I loved the grade, I loved my students and my coworkers, I loved my classroom and my district and my administrators. It was truly my dream job.

And it continued to be my dream job until we had our first child. Then, suddenly and without warning, she became my dream. I wanted more than anything be with her and watch her first steps, hear her first giggles, and change every diaper.

The switch from teaching to stay-at-home-motherhood was difficult at first. I did not resign until my daughter was 15 months. But as I settled into being home full time, I realized quickly that I would never regret my decision. While I still miss my wonderful coworkers and having a classroom full of students I loved, I have never regretted my decision to stay home to pursue a new and different calling.

I have now run the gamut in terms of “working mom,” “stay at home mom,” and even “work at home mom.” I’ve done every single one! (And enjoyed each, too.) Staying home and teaching my kids is, for now, where I feel called. And I’m so glad we all have been blessed with different callings, and that dreams and callings can change. ❤

The decision to begin homeschooling also had a slow start. After poring over books and websites and blogs, I realized that homeschooling didn’t always mean we had to have disdain for our local, state, or country’s education system. Our reasons didn’t have to come from a negative viewpoint of other styles of education. I finally saw that our family’s reasons for choosing homeschooling can joyfully be ours and ours alone! Once I realized that, it set me free.

My husband and I found ourselves wishing we had more quality family time. We wanted freedom to live a slower pace of life, grow our own food, and teach a wide variety of skills. Hubby wanted art and woodworking and mechanics to be a part of our kids’ holistic education. I love including cooking, music and gardening in all my lesson plans. We’re also all nature lovers, and animal lovers – so taking care of our plants and pets get to be part of our school journey too!

 

 

While our family is loving this journey we’re on, we may not homeschool forever. There may be a point someday in which our children will need different classes we can’t offer or develop abilities that could flourish in another educational setting. Homeschooling is not for everyone. And likewise, homeschooling doesn’t always have to be a one-time decision. That’s what I love about it. For now, we are loving homeschooling. Maybe someday, we’ll love another form of education for our kids!

My goal in writing this post is to set a launching point for future posts about something my heart loves to do – learn and teach. Maybe a post about our favorite calendar activities here, a post about winter field trip ideas there…  We’re still fairly new at homeschooling, but I love documenting the process and I can’t wait to write more about it.

 

If you’re a homeschooling family, what do you love about it and what do you love documenting/sharing the most?

 

Here’s to future posts about learning, teaching and loving it!

❤