Beginning the list of 2000

This is just the beginning....

I am a mother of 4. My oldest is 10 and has been homeschooled since preschoool, so one might say I've been homeschooling for approximately 6 years. But does that count? I don't know. I remember when all the other moms were sending their kids off to preschool and I thought, "Well, as I want to homeschool, probably a good start would be to NOT send him away." And that is how we officially "began" homeschooling.

Of course, anyone who has been homeschooling for more than a few months quickly realizes all parents homeschool until they don't. Until they outsource their kids to learning institutions, public or private.

But how did I come to opt to NOT outsource? The first part was, I just LOVED my little guy! I became a mom at 26 and was THRILLED about it. I had my share of the new-mom struggles, namely balancing my old semblance of a fulfilling life with the realities of my new life. A successful day went from a long list of check marks on a to-do list and feeling like I improved my personal performance to getting enough rest when the baby slept, AND getting a shower, AND getting anything else done. And that was a successful day, the stars for which might not align more than once a month.

But my boy was my buddy. We did everything together, went everywhere together. And after 3 years, I couldn't picture life without him. So when he is 3, and I'm thinking, "I'm going to send my baby off in less time than he has been alive to be away from me for 4 hours in a row!" I just couldn't bear the idea and decided to call the concept off.

Sort of. Actually it wasn't such an abrupt choice, and not all tied to the apron strings. I think they played a part. But my husband and I had discussed the education of our kids practically since we'd begun dating. It likely came up because I pursued my own unique path when it came to higher education and employment - I was a professional ballerina for 4 years, was dancing when I met my husband, and had never attended college. So even from date one ("So, where do you work?" "At Ballet West") we were talking about the life experiences that had served us, and what was gained and lost by getting a piece of paper stating you had finished with the programs of a particular institution.

After having kids, the discussions became more detailed. We shared what we remembered of school (we both attended public school), what we liked, what shaped us. We came to realize we wasted a lot of time there. We were both naturally academic students, but neither of us felt we learned most of what we used on a regular basis in school. (Which isn't to say those things weren't taught, but we learned them from our parents, or by experience, or on our own. The classroom "instruction" had very little to do with it.) We wanted our kids to enjoy a richer, deeper, fuller education than we had. And to waste less of their lives too!

We talked private schools. We wondered when the time came if we would be able to afford them. My husband once suggested, "We could homeschool?"

"No," came my quick reply. "I want a life. And I want to have more than one kid. You can't have either and homeschool."

So a year or so passes and I'm feeling, "I don't want to send my kid away!" and homeschool feels a little more plausible. But still SO DAUNTING.

Hubby and I read books together. I'm sure in one of his health kicks, we picked up a book about living off the land and read about homesteaders in California who homeschooled their kids who wound up running the family's livelihood and getting into Ivy league schools. Incidentally, both parents had been college professors. WE didn't have those qualifications. But then, we weren't so set on Ivy league either. And what we read of these kids' life experiences - the deep, the rich, the full - REALLY sounded like what we had in mind.

So at this point I started where everyone wondering, "Am I really going to try this? Am I nuts?" starts. I found other homeschoolers and started asking questions. My aunt, who I'm not especially close with, homeschooled. I asked her what her draw was. She said, "To be an influence in my children's lives for a little longer." I liked that answer. Especially the part of me hyperventilating about sending my oldest to kindergarten in two years.

I wend to some informal homeschool mom meetings. (I didn't know then homeschoolers and formal meetings seldom cross paths.) Anyway, I was so impressed with these moms. They were intelligent, engaged, dynamic. I thought they seemed up to their elbows with the meaty things of life. I'd never been in such a group of women where there was such an absence of fluff in the discussion. I loved it.

And they had great wisdom. Influential quotes that encouraged me:
"Homeschooling rarely fails. If it doesn't work, people just send their kids back to school."
"You can always try."
"Homeschooling doesn't have to take the same time school does. You can teach everything in school in much less time, and then go about your life."

Well, I was sold. And so I began the homeschooling journey. I WAS able to keep my boy with me a little longer, but that one decision, made years ago, more significantly has deepened and enriched not only the education of my kids, but of myself. It's blessed me in my role as a mother. And fulfilled my dreams of a happy family.

My list of what began as a small handful of largely trivial reasons to homeschool has grown. I've loved the process and adventure growing the list has brought. I'm excited to share it with you!