I’d like to introduce myself to the Families.com family. I’m a mom, a freelance writer, and a new homeschooling blogger here. I’m delighted to have this opportunity to write about a lifestyle and method of education that I love.
We’re a family of five from the Midwest. When people ask how long we’ve been homeschooling, I often say that we’ve done it since birth, since parents are the first and most important educators of their children.
But, for an actual chronology of my kids’ education, I can also say that we started formally homeschooling our oldest when she entered first grade. She had gone to a local preschool and, though the experience had been adequate, we were concerned about keeping her love of learning alive. Some of her school experiences put a damper on her enthusiasm.
During her Kindergarten year, I looked seriously into homeschooling. I educated myself about the process, the legalities and the support systems available in our community. My husband was a bit reluctant to consider it, given that he’s a public school teacher. But, solid investigation, convincing evidence about the benefits, and ongoing conversations about what I’d learned paved the way. By the time our daughter’s Kindergarten year ended, he was completely on board. We dived into homeschooling the following year, with our two girls, who were then six and four. I immediately loved it, and I still do.
We now have three daughters (a teen, a pre-teen and a preschooler), are in our seventh year of homeschooling, and I still love this lifestyle and the flexibility it offers our family. I enjoy designing and selecting curriculum, helping my children pursue their interests, and having the ability to move at a pace that works for each of my very individual children.
We have an eclectic schooling style, a real mix of methods and ideas. We do loads of read-alouds. On any given day, we can be found enjoying a pile of ‘living books,’ from picture books to chapter books. We’re a dash of classical, a bit relaxed, a touch of Charlotte Mason, and a little ‘unschool-y.’
In short, our homeschool is a lot like life: a mixture of routine and spontaneity, variety and surprises, as well as the ups and downs that attend all of those things.
Welcome to our homeschooling world! We can’t wait to share it with you, and I’m privileged to be sharing it here at Families.com.