Schoolin' at Home

We homeschool. Its true. No, I am not a religious zealot, I don't have hair braided to my backside, we don't spend our evenings by the fireside knitting while Father reads us a story, I don't have the patience of a saint, and I don't have perfectly behaved angels from heaven. *And if you are reading and happen to be any of the above, there's nothing wrong with that!

We are "regular" people. We watch TV, we sometimes yell, we strive every day to be good Christians and probably fail miserably, I sometimes wish I could send my children off to school so I can go pee by myself, I don't always know what I am doing, and my children argue from time to time. Lucy has been known to have a smart mouth and Zachary farts in public.

We school at home because we deeply believe it is what is best for our children. We tried public school once, but in a very short time we could see how differently Zachary learned, we knew public school would never fit. In the time since we've been homeschooling (going on 2 years now) Zachary has changed dramatically- he has higher self esteem, manages stress and anxiety better, has made strides in his social skills, and is overall pretty happy. I work around Zachary's needs, coach him through problems, and try to grow him into a capable, well rounded, confident, independent student.

Zachary learns best from hands on learning, with as few worksheets as possible. His attention span is best in the afternoon/evening when hes gotten all his wiggles out in the morning. Zachary needs an everyday schedule that stays roughly the same and is clearly laid out in print at the start of the day. He excels in reading but flounders in the math department. He absolutely LOVES history. We read as much as possible, everyday because its what hes loved since he was a baby. My most favorite time of the day is when we curl up together in a beanbag chair to read.

All of that is not to say it isn't hard and that I'm not still discovering exactly what works and what doesn't work for us. The last two years have had huge struggles. In the one year Zachary was in public school he was able to draw a clear line between me, his mother, and his teacher. The idea of suddenly blending the two together into one mutant beast Teacher Mom wasn't an easy transition for my rigid little guy. Zachary is also not the most enthusiastic learner. Its a struggle for him to focus, to understand, and to sit still so its no wonder that education is not his most favorite past time. There have been days I feel defeated and frustrated, as though I am not good enough to do this.

We've stuck it out, developed a finely tuned routine, and I continue to look for ways to improve our academics everyday. Some days are stellar and I feel like the high champion of moms, and others I feel like I am doing very little the "right way". There are many days we spend sharing, working together, achieving, and growing that we could not have without homeschooling though. The highlight of my day yesterday was a deep discussion(for a 7 year old) on Hammurabi's Code and the many reasons why my compassionate little guy was opposed to quite a few of Hammurabi's laws.

When we mention that we homeschool people often think it seems impossible. But the reality is, as parents we all started out homeschooling our children. We teach them to talk, walk, build block towers, use a spoon, their colors, their numbers, their alphabets, ride a bike, use the potty, share, eat right, and more. Continuing to homeschool beyond the preschool years, in my mind, is just an extension of the "homeschooling" we were already doing.

Homeschooling has come a long way over the years and its quite mainstreamed. Its easy to find clubs, groups, co-ops, and blogs to connect with. There are many many many options for curriculum out there in order to custom tailor your approach to teaching and they can be purchased at prices ranging from high to low on the internet. Homeschooling isn't just for the "crazies" anymore. The vast majority of homeschooling families we meet are everyday normal people.

I still have a lot to learn about this whole process but everyday I feel more and more confident that we are doing the right thing for our children.....even if I may never get to go pee by myself again.