Well apparently we’re a homeschool fam now…for sure did not see that one coming (on par, #2020).

I believed all of the myths about homeschooling until I was sort of backed into a corner and had to re-evaluate why I had been against it in the first place. Homeschooling isn’t a choice between two extremes…in reality, educating your child is more of a spectrum of varying approaches, methods, & styles. The freedom to choose the how is perhaps the most appealing thing about homeschooling. 

The more I researched, the more I uncovered my deepest desires for my children’s education. Things like: making savoring beauty a daily discipline as important as any other a reclamation of childhood cultivating a deep love of learning utilizing nature, projects, and great literature to learn concepts seeking growth instead of a checklist becoming a student of my own child full freedom for our faith to be integrated with education in a holistic way and maybe most importantly, the decidedly undervalued gift of time.

I won’t begin to claim that we have everything figured out (not even close — as in not at all), or that any one decision is better than another (no decision comes easy these days), or that we won’t ever send our kids back into a school building (because I’ve changed my mind before and might again). But I will say that the clarity, peace, and assurance our family has felt about this direction for this season has been supernatural and surprising.

The Father even kindly made a way for us to put together a small local homeschool co-op, between just us and two other families. Having each other’s support as we wade into unfamiliar waters has been the biggest relief and grace.

Now don’t mind me while I nerd out over our Little House on the Prairie books that amazon just delivered. (YES!!) I may not be the smartest or the most patient teacher, but surely being a bookworm at heart & caring too much about spelling and grammar () will serve me well in this new calling. I have yet to meet a homeschool parent who feels “equipped” to handle it, so the good news is I’m in good company!

WHATEVER you’re doing for school this fall: let’s do it WELL friends.

(*If you are even mildly curious about homeschool, I highly recommend starting with reading the book Wild + Free. I am still very much a newbie but happy to try and answer any questions you may have).

Thanks to all of my HS friends who have patiently answered my questions and helped guide us as we get started  I’ll be sharing more about our approach and curriculum in a later post.

What are your family’s plans for school this fall?