As some of you know by now, we recently left public school to homeschool our oldest. Although we don't necessarily feel like we "owe" anyone an explanation, I found myself explaining over and over again. I needed validation. I couldn't possibly be the only parent with these concerns. I needed to make sure that I wasn't making a huge mistake, and potentially scarring my child forever. So here's the thing, the more parents I spoke with, the more I was affirmed in my decision. God was sending me subtle, reassuring signs all along the way. Not once did I feel like I had to defend my choice, instead I was met with support, empathy, and an overwhelming affirmation that we were making the right decision.
Ad and I have been down this road before. It wasn't pretty, and I gave up. Our relationship has a very interesting dynamic. Maybe it's because we are so much a like? I'm not really sure, but I have to be extremely intentional with her. We gave public school a try, and it was great. For the first year and a half it was wonderful, she was thriving, and we were reassured that she was where she was needed. It wasn't even on our radar in August that our days were numbered. She was placed with a fabulous teacher, in a class full of kids she knew, I committed to all my usual school obligations, and eagerly looked forward to the school year. The rest of this story boils down to two words: Common Core.
If you don't know what Common Core is, take a few minutes to find out. As well intentioned as it may be, it is causing great schools to suffer in so many ways. It was keeping our little girl from thriving, from being a part of the dynamic, inclusive education we got as children. It was taking so much time away from the truly inqusitive, curious, and creative nature of learning and "boxing it in". There is so much time spent in assessing, pre-testing, and post-testing, in additional the the various federally mandated requirements, that there is little time for anything but English (Reading/Writing) and Math -- very little time for Science, Social Studies, or anything else.
Dave and I had a decision to make. You always want your children to have more opportunity and success than yourself, and that was setting the bar pretty high. We both went to great schools, which allowed us tremendous opportunity (with a ton of hard work). Although I was an Elementary Ed major for a minute, that wasn't my degree. Was I even qualified? Unequivocally, yes. This was no doubt the best decision for us, and I did eventually feel confident and even excited about my (overwhelming) task ahead. God has guided my path, and I truly believe our failure the first time around has prepared me for what is to come.
In the upcoming weeks, this will serve as my journal. I hope that I can be candid and real about our new day to day. I want to share our schedule, curriculum choices, tips, do-nots, field trips, successes and failures and more. I hope that this will help many of your that have contemplated homeschooling, because I have benefitted so much from learning from other moms in the thick of it.
