Homeschooling: I Can't Believe I'm a Homeschool Mom!

If someone would have told me five or six years ago that I'd be a homeschooling mom, I would have shaken my head, laughed and said, "no way!" I truly thought I was ready for the big yellow school bus to pick up my child and take her to school for the day. I imagined her returning home with her backpack full of papers, field trip notices and glowing reports from the teacher. In my mind's eye, I saw her sit down for a snack, happily telling me all about her day and her friends. I would laugh with her and ask her questions about what she learned that day or what she did in gym class. She would go off and play, I'd make dinner, we'd eat as a family, and then it would be bath and bed time. The next day, the same thing would happen again. I imagined she would make wonderful friends and bring them home every now and then to play. Well, I pretty much thought, when my daughter was very little, that school could be for her the way it was for me. But, that was years ago...and things today are very different!

When my daughter was about four years old, we attended our first homeschooling convention, at the request of a dear friend. She had been homeschooling for several years already and recommended we just look into it a bit before making any hard and fast decisions. We were at the convention for a few days and came away looking like deer in headlights and completely overwhelmed! We had listened to seasoned homeschool parents during breakout sessions. We had looked at a few hundred different curriculums and talked to who knows how many other parents who were also considering the option of homeschooling. Once we returned home, we began to pray about what the Lord would have for us in the area of schooling our daughter. We weren't pleased with the local public schools and we simply couldn't afford to send her to a private school, unless I returned to work. My heart's desire had turned from wanting to be a career woman and mom at the same time, to wanting to stay home full time and take care of my home and family.

Truly, every parent homeschools their child! From the day the child is born, parents are teaching them! So, we worked with my daughter on the basics with puzzles, hands-on manipulatives, flash cards, coloring books, library resources and anything else we could find. By the age of three, she knew all of her alphabet, numbers up to 25 and she knew her colors and shapes. We began a preschool curriculum with her by age four. By the end of that year, she knew all of her phonics and knew how to write all of her letters and numbers in manuscript. We were only "testing" the waters at this point, but really felt like we could effectively teach her at home. We also felt a strong leading from the Lord to continue to keep her at home, so we decided to order a kindergarten curriculum for her at the age of 5. She did beautifully! Our state does not require a student to be officially enrolled in school until age 6, so by the time she was "declared", she was in first grade. We tested her at the end of the year simply to confirm what we felt to be her weaknesses and strengths. She was interviewed by a certified teacher and her work was reviewed at the same time and she was successfully "passed" to second grade.

Could this really be me? I'm officially a homeschool mom? I still can't believe it sometimes, but the benefits of homeschooling have far outweighed the frustrations, that's for certain. If my daughter struggled in any area, we could stop and work on that specific area for as long as needed until she mastered the concept. We were able to incorporate our values and beliefs into our school day, focus on any subject in which she was interested and we could snuggle on the couch while we read books together. She is now eight years old and still, one of our favorite times together is reading on the couch together, snuggled under a blanket. What a blessing for me as her mom!

I know what most people say about homeschoolers. They want to know how they are being "socialized". I can tell you that my daughters get plenty of time with other children. We are part of a homeschool group that meets on a regular basis for physical education and field trips. We are involved in soccer and gymnastics. They see their friends at church and we have children over to our home to play too. The clincher for me was when my oldest daughter was about 5 years old or so. One of our senior saints in our church at that time came up to me and said he had had the most wonderful conversation with my daughter in the foyer that morning. I was so touched that this precious man took the time to tell me this! My husband and I decided that if our little one could have a real conversation with someone many years her senior, she was doing ok! It was as if the Lord was telling us, "you're doing the right thing!"

I'm going to be truthful with you. There have been days that I have been on my knees, pleading with the Lord for another option, but He quietly says, "no, homeschool your daughters". To date, we have been obedient to that conviction, and our entire family has been blessed as a result! If you are considering homeschooling as an option for your family, do your research. Talk to other homeschooling moms. They are a wealth of information! I wouldn't trade my life as a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom for any career outside my home. I am having too much fun enjoying my children, having precious time with them and watching first-hand, how they are growing up. There's no where else, (most days!), that I'd rather be... than home.