<A quick and random post, but an important part of reclaiming (or just claiming, really) our homeschooling.>

At the beginning of the school year, I’ve usually sought out a lined spiral notebook for my daughter’s schooling.  Granted, these are easier and cheaper to find in the fall, amidst shelves of fresh school supplies.  They are also the type of notebooks I knew as a student and as a teacher in schools.  Students write their work on lined 8 1/2″ by 11″ paper, right?  I know the practical reasoning for this as a classroom teacher – when collecting work, the uniform size of these sheets makes it easier to stack and store papers without misplacing any.  But it wasn’t until yesterday while browsing the cute journals in Marshall’s that I realized there was absolutely zero reason I need my daughter to be using a standard school notebook.  While I occasionally use these standard spiral-bounds for my own writing when they’re around and I need something, they are definitely not my preference.  I prefer big, blank pages for writing as big or small as I’d like and covers that make me happy.  So, even though I do think it’s important for my kids to still use lined paper while they’re specifically practicing printing and cursive (at least for most “school” purposes), I love the idea of them finding notebooks that make them happy to open and use.

I notice that a lot of homeschool families, including our own, will give themselves “credit” for outings and experiences as part of their schooling, but I began to wonder what the difference is with our outings vs. a family with public schoolers.  Because when we go bowling or go the library or go on a trip, I do see it as part of our homeschool day and long-term learning.  But, obviously, public school families do these outings too.  So, should I not be giving myself as much of a pat on the back for these outings as I thought?

These are absolutely not blanket statements, as there are some homeschool families this doesn’t apply to as much, and there are definitely public school families who are able to take a more active approach than others, but I began to recognize some differences:

–One difference, for us, is that our family spends a good deal of our days together.  So, when we’ve just been to an airport to drop someone off or we go see the bunnies at the feed store, or even when we go get an ice cream and the owner shares with us his journey of starting his business- well, all of those are a shared experience that we build on while we’re doing our learning.  When I’m making an analogy or literature connection or a science observation later in the year, these out-of-the-house experiences pop up frequently.  Just by the nature of having a public school classroom full of kids with different backgrounds and experiences, lots of the learning needs to take place from a shared text instead of a shared experience.  And some kids will definitely connect it to their own life observations naturally or when prompted to do so by the teacher, but I love how effortless our family’s outings can become a part of our learning.

–That said, I do put effort in when I know we’re going to a new place.  I have the time (sometimes) and ability to make these experiences part of our learning by preparing ahead of time and reflecting upon afterwards.  So, apart from the shared experiences and long-term building I just talked about, I also usually go out of my way to make our outings purposeful.  Obviously the core piece is enjoying the experience.  But if I know we’re going to a new city or we’re going to an alpaca farm or we’re going to get to take a train ride, then you can bet our borrowed library books will be overflowing with that theme.  We’ll center our writing around it or read a book that connects.  We’ll watch YouTubes to learn more or take a virtual tour ahead of time.  If we’re going to see extended family, we make family trees and pull out maps to find where everyone lives.  I’m always working to create the balance between offering information to enrich an experience while still letting it unfold naturally.

–“Conversation schooling” and “in-the-moment schooling” are also just more natural for us.  I absolutely understand the idea of letting a vacation or outing be just that, especially when a family is in the busy days of away-school and after-school activities.  So I completely respect that.  But just the nature of our daily lives is that our kids are more accustomed to learning taking place on the go.  Questions and conversations and reflections are a big part of our learning at home and that carries over into all situations.  It’s just a guess, but I think many (not all) public school children might feel a bit taken aback if their parents were trying to get a learning lesson in during their fun outing; they work hard in school and doing their homework, and they definitely deserve a rest from that.  But for many homeschoolers, this ‘learning from every experience’ is part of their days and a big part of how they interact with their parents.

So, maybe public school families wouldn’t agree – I definitely doubt it myself sometimes – and maybe even other homeschool families wouldn’t agree, but do I think outings, whether they are to a student recital or to an amusement park or even to the store, count as part of our home learning?  Absolutely, I do.

I’m not completely naive.  We’re only three days into our school year, and I realize that the first few weeks, and the first week, especially, are their own separate bubble.  That said…

I experienced pure homeschool bliss today.  All those Julie Bogart podcasts I’ve been listening to this summer have paid off.  It’s not necessarily that Julie tells me things I don’t already know or believe, but she’s like a loving, supportive mentor by my side giving me the strength to trust my vision.  Although I am a former classroom teacher, I always considered my (former) school situations relaxed compared to others.  And compared to other homeschool families, I also saw my approach as quite chill.   But, I do think the nagging of a public school upbringing and public school teaching weighed on me more than I cared to admit.  It was one thing to hold home learning philosophies and read about them in books, but to actually put them into practice and trust the process has not been something I’ve excelled at.  I feel like I’ve been floating between wanting to give my kids the experiences that home learning can offer, while unknowingly also expecting them to be on the same schedule as public schoolers their age.  And that’s just unfair.  To any of us, really, since I take on a weight of responsibility and guilt whenever I play the comparison game.

But this first week, I decided to roll with my instincts a bit more-to trust in the day and trust in my kids and trust in myself.  I do have a general idea of what I’d like us to be doing and learning, but surrendering to the moments, well, that’s what home learning is all about for me.  So this morning when my 6-year-old was eager to get out of bed so he could write and illustrate a book he’d been brainstorming before bed the night before, I said, “Yes!”  I didn’t stop us to do “real” work or look up at the clock and worry about minutes ticking by.  I recognized the moment for all the rich valuable learning and experience and fun that it was.  I wrote down my son’s words, and while he told the story, conversations came up naturally about character and setting and conflict and continuity.  Nothing felt forced or lesson-like.  We had a blast and ended up in several moments of uncontrollable giggles.  It rocked!  Later, my daughter pulled out the basket where we keep all the stories they’ve illustrated and written over the years, and we read some together.  While my son and I were writing, my daughter had been constructing a very elaborate crown, complete with painting and intricate beading.  I watched as she problem solved and engineered a way for the crown parts she had planned to come together and stay the way she had intended.

And then we had lunch.  We did a few little “school” things and then sat and finished the group chapter book we had started on Monday.  We discussed the book and made predictions about the sequel.  We observed bunnies and ferrets and parakeets and baby mice when we went to the store to get a hanging pot for a plant we would later re-pot together.  We picked up oodles of books, like treasures, from the library.  We played board games together in the evening, took a walk after dinner, and played “Walk This Way” as we went.  We brainstormed a silly movie trailer we had made up as we finally crawled into bed.  The whole day was what I’ve always wanted from a homeschool day, but have rarely given myself (or my kids) permission to do.

Hopefully I can keep this feeling and momentum and trust during the year.  My kids will be learning and growing regardless.  We might as well enjoy each other and the journey as they do.

I still remember exactly where I was when I knew I wanted to homeschool my future kids.  I had just read a book –I can’t remember which one or why I had even picked it up or even if I would still like it today if I re-read it–but after reading it, I absolutely knew in my gut that homeschooling was a path I wanted to explore.

The whole idea had never been on my radar before.  Ever.  I grew up very content with my public school experience.  I knew a couple of homeschool families, but mostly I viewed homeschooling as something very foreign and a little strange.  Later in life as a public school teacher, the case against homeschool felt even stronger.  A homeschool student entering the classroom felt like a burden, since they weren’t “up to standard” with the rest of the class.  I had all the misconceptions most people hold about homeschoolers, even though I found that the ones I knew didn’t seem to fit these labels at all.  Now, being a homeschool family, I’m not sure if people still hold these judgements and preconceived ideas and I’m just oblivious, or if homeschooling has actually become more of a mainstream option.

Homeschooling isn’t for everyone, and it definitely is not easy, despite my background in teaching and my fairly “laid-back” approach.  Trusting the process is TOUGH.  Dealing with your own kids in the learning environment is TOUGH.  Not for all homeschoolers, mind you.  I know some homeschool families who set up little daily lists and their children, even the young ones, skip off merrily to go complete their work.  Ha!  Not the case in our home.  I’d say it’s taken some very bumpy roads to get where we are now.  It’s kind of like parenthood– I haven’t always liked the details of it, it’s driven me bonkers, but I also wouldn’t trade it for anything.

So here are some reasons I love homeschooling for us (and I know these aren’t homeschool-exclusive, but since this is our only experience…)  Also, many of the things I love about homeschooling are also many of the challenges–go figure.

 

–Our kids can go at their own pace.  I firmly believe in trusting the process and trusting that kids will be ready when they’re ready.  We see examples of it all throughout parenthood, whether it’s when our baby walks or potty trains or learns to ride a bike.  You can’t force these things to happen “early” anymore than you can force your kid to grow taller sooner.  That said, trusting the process is tough, especially when public-school kids of the same age are on a different timeline.

–Our kids can play!  This is one of THE biggest reasons I have for homeschooling.  Many families in this country are on an unofficial race to have their kid learn to read, write, and solve math before other kids or at the youngest age possible, as if this is some sort of indication of long-term genius and success.  I have a very strong belief that babies and young kids, especially, belong with family, not in daycares or preschools, whenever possible.  And, I believe that a young child will learn a lot more about life in the long-run from being allowed to play.  I cringe when I hear young children spending their time doing school skills, instead of learning through imagination and getting their hands dirty.

–We can spend more time on subjects.  This sounds weird, since it is sometimes such a battle to do even the smallest tasks, but more often than not, our daughter will ask to do more than I have in mind.  “Can we do a few more?”  “Can we do this a little longer?”  I don’t think this happens that much in school settings.  Students are often on strict schedules and aren’t given the time and space to explore things further.  They also tend to be “trained” into the anticipation of recess and breaks that it doesn’t often occur to them to spend MORE time doing a subject.  (At least, this was my experience when I was a classroom teacher.)  If there’s an especially strong interest in something, I can center the rest of the day or week around it.

–We can go with the flow of the day.  This is a tricky one to find a balance with for me.  I love being able to run outside in the morning, if the weather is special, instead of diving right into school.  Or being able to drive to the lake or spend time with a visitor.  This kind of flexibility definitely depends on a parent and student who are able to make the lessons happen, even if it’s at different times of the day or in different settings.  But, wow.  Schooling at a park or at the beach or in the car on the way to a museum–these are moments when homeschool really shines.

–We do a lot of learning through discussion.  I often wonder if I’m “doing enough” for schooling, and then I have to remind myself of just how much we talk about during the day.  I know families who send their kids to school might not think this counts, since I’m sure they talk to their kids too, obviously.  But, because we are with the kids all day long, we know exactly what they’ve read and seen and experienced, and we continuously build on that.  We reference back to these frequently and we constantly tie conversations into what we’re learning without “forcing” it.  This natural flow of discussion and questions feels so much better to me than textbooks.

–I get to tell stories!  I love, love storytelling, and it is a huge part of our learning here.  I would love to tell more folktales and fairytales, but mostly I tell stories from my past or from books I’ve read or movies I’ve watched.  It’s a great opportunity for so many more discussions, and I love that we have the time and space to answer all the questions that arise during the day.

–We get to be flexible with our schedule.  This can feel like a negative too, but if we’ve stayed up late, we can all sleep in and get the rest our bodies need.  If it’s a bright, beautiful morning and we’re all awake, we can start school then and be done early and have the rest of the day to play and explore.   Our kids are seriously cranky when they don’t get the right amount of sleep, so I am very grateful for this flexibility.

–Our kids get to spend their days together.  I know sibling squabbles and loving times are part of every family, but I just love that our kids get to spend their days together, instead of being sent to different classrooms.  I know as they grow older, this may shift, but I’m so glad for this time they have to play and learn together.

–We have the time and space for “real-life” skills.  I didn’t cook a meal or use tools or sew clothes or vacuum the house as young as our kiddos have.  Part of it is just the nature of being home all day, and part of it is our schooling, but I love that these skills are built into the day.

 

I know there are more.  Many more.  I’m sure I’ll want to edit and add as I think about this, and especially as the years pass and everything shifts yet again.  As a former classroom teacher and someone with many wonderful, talented family and friends who are classroom teachers, I absolutely know there are advantages to all different types of schooling.  There have certainly been days I’ve seriously questioned homeschool as our choice.  And I think that’s important to keep doing from time to time.  I’m sure I’ll write a post someday about all the reasons homeschooling seriously sucks too.  But, it’s also really helpful for me to remember the reasons we chose this path.  Because these WHYs are what keep me going.