I Kissed Homeschooling Good-bye

I kissed homeschooling good-bye…FOREVER!

I started my homeschooling journey 18 years ago and have written about it along the way: Back to the Basics in Homeschooling. It seems like a lifetime has come and gone.

I knew I wanted to homeschool my kids even before I had kids. Maybe I should say IF I had kids. My husband and I were married for 10 long, anxiously awaiting, wishing with all my might I was pregnant or a mom for most of those 10 long years.

And then it happened…I became a mother.

It was just as wonderful as I had hoped and as tiresome and sleep deprived as I had heard. But those days passed quickly, much too quickly if truth be told.

My second child, a boy, came along just 22 months after the first! Whatever the problem was before apparently got fixed because I was now a mother of two.

Before I could blink an eye or catch a breath it was time to begin school, or I should say formal education, for a parent schools their children from the time they are born until the ability or strength to do so are no longer there.

I poured over catalogs and asked the advice of sage friends who had already been doing this gig for awhile, especially Jan, my dear friend who left the public and private classroom arenas to homeschool her three daughters. She was a God send to this I-don’t-feel-qualified-or-adequate parent who desperately wanted to teach her kids at home.

One of the biggest concerns of teaching my daughter in a formal let’s-do-school sort of way was how I was going to keep my very curious, adventuresome little guy occupied while doing so. No worries there, however, as he wanted to do EVERYTHING his sister was doing, only better and faster.

Problem solved.

He wasn’t as attentive or able to sit for quite as long as my daughter but learn he did…right alongside his sister.

My youngest child (another boy) was thrown into the mix when my daughter was 6 and my son was 4. That was a little overwhelming too, but you just do what needs to be done.

I loved those early days of learning; reading aloud, coloring, painting, using scissors and glue and whatever else presented itself to us. We took field trips and studied nature and turned everything into a learning experience because everything is.

Oh don’t get me wrong, I didn’t always have it all together, especially compared to my friend Jan, but I learned to relax and finally we found the rhythm that fit our learning style best.

As my kids got older we ventured out and began to participate in cottage schools. It seems that my kids had a penchant for acting, especially my two sons. All three kids loved to sing and harmonize so they took vocal lessons for awhile, and dazzled us with Carole of the Bells and Chapel of Love.

My boys also developed a desire to play guitar and an appreciation for classic rock music, much to my pleasure and chagrin. Although my nine year old singing Led Zepplin was a bit amazing, the lyrics, not so much, so I was torn. It was a fun and exciting time watching them perform in various places around town.

They continued on with their guitar lessons (my youngest still takes bass lessons) and we became a not-so-much-at-home schooling kind of family. We added Spanish, art and higher level math classes than I could teach (math just isn’t my thing) and we were good to go!

I feel like I dropped the ball in some areas, however, and wish for a do-over. Ain’t gonna happen (yes, I know that isn’t proper English).

Whatever the case may be, it’s over my friends. The fat lady has finished the song, the eagle has landed, the chicks have hatched, and just for good measure, the cookie has crumbled…my youngest child has graduated.

And I kissed homeschooling good-bye.