Choosing To Homeschool

Today is Everett's last day of school. Sending him to "preschool" has been a great experience. He loved his teachers, his friends, and the activities. I really appreciated all of that, too. The school has a wonderful philosophy centered around learning through creating and playing. I loved the teachers and the activities he was involved in. I appreciated their gentle discipline and their one on one interactions. All in all, I would recommend his school to everyone. 

I explain all this to ensure that people understand that I don't have a problem with public schooling. I taught in a wonderful school for four years, and within a very good district for five. With the right teachers and teaching methods, a child can achieve a very successful education. I loved school and still do. So it might be confusing as to why we would choose to homeschool Everett. 

Homeschooling wasn't in our original plan. That much is obvious since he has been attending "preschool" for this last year. After teaching in public schools I knew my philosophy on education was different than where I taught.  As Everett approaches school age we have pursued other alternatives: Montessori, language immersion, etc. I looked at homeschooling, too, but wasn't sure of the time it took. So, six months ago you would have heard me saying that homeschooling just wasn't for me. I needed and wanted the time to pursue my own interests.  Yet, as I've struggled to balance time spent on my interests and time spent on the needs of my growing family, I've constantly asked what I am meant to be doing. 

The answer came shortly after Kellan was born. During my babymoon, absorbed in thought and being, I experienced a very peaceful sense of where I was at. I heard from inside that this- this here, with my children, my family- is where I belonged. It felt like an answer to that struggle for balance, and it brought feelings of relief.

A few weeks later, something else called to me to look at homeschooling again. Before I knew it I was reading blogs and books on homeschooling, running into all sorts of synchronized moments when it seemed like fate was putting the subject in front of me. That's all it took for me to realize that this was our path. 

In researching, I have also been able to better articulate why we are choosing to homeschool. Our biggest reason is the opportunity for Everett to lead his own learning experiences. In compulsory schooling, you are told what to learn, when to learn it and how to learn it. At home (or in the community at large) you have the chance to choose what, when, where, why and how to learn what you learn. A child like Everett (who is like most children) with an insatiable appetite for learning grows up understanding that learning is a continual part of life, intricately woven into our daily activities.  

It is not something that only occurs between 8 am and 3 pm, Monday through Friday. It is not something that occurs only within school walls. Creating these limits often has a stifling effect on a child's desire to learn. With the capability of learning whenever he wants about whatever he wants, Everett will be able to explore a wide variety of interests and discover his passion. And then, he won't have to stop pursuing that passion because the teacher was required to switch subjects for the next 30 minutes. He'll be able to experience it for as long as he wants.

Another reason is that we can facilitate Everett's education in a way that is better applied to his life and his passions. Instead of learning largely through books, pencils and worksheets, he'll be learning through hands-on projects and experiences such as building machines, painting theater sets, research projects, creating model airplanes, planting gardens, and shadowing professionals at work. He will learn about our passions, too, as we take time to experience them. Again, he will experience learning as an inseparable part of life.

So, while it may not have been our first inclination to homeschool, between a call from inner spirit and an investigation into what the right choice is for us (not just me) home is where we have landed after all.