Landing on Homeschooling
When Chloe was younger I definitely imagined she would be attending our local elementary school.
It is about a mile from our house so I even pictured her walking to school at some point. I have been a teacher for almost 20 years and have my school administration degree so I even entertained the idea of working at her school.
These thoughts were all happening when a friend of mine was superintendent of my local school district. He understood the importance of the whole child, not just academics and was on a mission to ensure the kids were happy and healthy. Then he left the district.
As Chloe got closer to kindergarten age I began to feel there was no way I could send her to public school. The school was back to status quo so, I began to look at private schools on Long Island where I live.
I was looking for a school that was not simply the same menu as public school with a price tag. Schools like this exist everywhere and what they are selling is exclusivity. They are teaching the same way, mostly the same content, typically with far less experienced teachers but because you have to pay to get in you are getting a certain clientele. Some parents are happy to pay for clientele however, this was not my goal.
I found many private schools that were similar to public but claimed to be more rigorous or academic in nature. These prep schools use words like excel, achieve, and college readiness. This did not meet my goals either.
I found just a handful of schools that actually met my goals which included, more outdoor time, more play, more student-led learning, hands on, project based, place based, problem based, creative, personal, entrepreneurial, and basically out of the box education.
The handful of schools I found were all at least 45 minutes from my house. I wondered if I could move or work at her school so we would commute together. Neither one of these ended up being a good option so I settled on homeschooling. I was annoyed that the school system didn’t provide for what I feel are basic needs for children. That I would need to homeschool for lack of good options. That in other places there are more opportunity and that homeschooling was my last resort.
That is how I felt for a beat and then I started listening to podcasts and reading books from homeschooling parents and wow did my mind shift from homeschooling as my last resort to homeschooling as my first choice. Here are some of the realizations I had that made me see homeschooling as a wonderful option that I am thrilled to begin:
We get back almost 17,000 hours together
We can enjoy slow mornings together and in general a slower pace of life
Learning happens everywhere and all the time so Chloe won’t have to spend certain hours on “school” and other hours pursuing talents and passions
Now joining extracurriculars doesn’t mean only spending minutes together each day
Her academic pursuits will truly be led by her needs, wants and interests
We learn best from those we trust, love and respect and those are the teachers who know what we need
The world is a beautiful place to learn why do it from inside at a desk
We can travel any time we want to as long as we can afford to do it, we do not have to schedule our lives around school breaks
I won’t have to worry about screen time at school, bullies, behavior disruptions, or bad teachers (I am a teacher but it happens!)
These are some of the realizations I have had and I’m sure I will continue to have more. This does not mean that I have no worries about Chloe missing out on some things because of homeschooling. However, I also know that she would miss out on something no matter which path we chose. I feel confident that this way she will get back 180 school days each year to spend in a more joyful way and we will try to make sure she still gets to meet many peers and make friends, be exposed to teachers other than me, and find role models outside of her parents. I am so excited for the journey ahead and I am happy to say that homeschool is my first choice!