Everything Happens For A Reason

I overheard one of my previous boyfriends that his ideal future was him finding a job as a firefighter and I was to stay home with kids and do the cooking and cleaning.  I butted into the conversation by laughing and said, "Then you've got the wrong girl!"  I have always been driven and in most jobs I've held, I actually enjoy getting up and going to the office.  Having lunch out.  Talking with co-workers, learning new skills.  

One of my earlier memories is sitting on the carpeted steps of my childhood home practicing flash cards with my Mom.  I learned to read at a fairly young age, though I don't remember exactly when.  I, of course, didn't think this was unusual, but I could tell my parents did by the way they showed off my skill.  On a hair appointment that I was dragged along to, I recall my Mom picking up the magazine and telling the hairdresser (and also our neighbor, we were in her kitchen where she did hair) that I could read just about any word on the magazine.  Lisa couldn't believe it and said that surely I had just memorized the words and we were playing a trick on her.  So she flipped to an article on the inside and I read more words.  

From then on, I think my parents knew I was smart and was going to need to be challenged.  They enrolled me in Montessori school.

I can't honestly say I ever thought of myself as a stay-at-home Mom type who cooked and cleaned and raised kids.  But after I had my daughter, I couldn't imagine going back to work.  It took quite a while for me to get over that loss of self.  I wasn't contributing to the household (in the financial/bringing in money sense).  

I had been meaning to go to the Homeschool Resource Center in our area since school started.  Then one day, I decided to go check it out -- mainly because the information I wanted couldn't be found on their website -- and the office manager told me about a tour that was happening the next day.  Somehow, I was free, so I told her to sign us up.

I loved the creativity I saw at Edmonds Heights and I had been up to the "Snug Room" with a friend who enrolled her son last year for a semester.  They showed us a robotics/Lego room and a maker room that had morphed into more of a project room with lots of sewing machines and a teacher overseeing projects led by the students.  What more could one ask for!?  Well, lots of family spaces to hang out while your kids go to classes on campus, a library full of curriculum resources available for checkout, plus they give money (currently $500 per year) toward curriculum purchases (books or classes/workshops).

I was convinced of the value, but scared to consider it.  Surely next year, right?  Like we would begin in the Fall.  It was crazy to think of starting so soon in January.  But the more I read, the more I thought it was crazy to wait.  Right now was the perfect time to try out homeschooling.  I needed books about what to do and fast.

I asked fellow home school friends what they recommended, so those combined with a trip to the library to see what was on the shelf and so far, my reading has consisted of:

This was a great fast read by Blair (right?) from Facts of Life.  Mostly stating that she homeschooled her kids and this book consists of interviews/stories of a variety of situations in which other parents home schooled their kids as well.  Some work full time, some stay home, some kids were motivated, some had learning difficulties, but all benefited from a unique approach to their learning.

Hold Onto Your Kids

I have only started reading at this point, but basically that a kid needs their parents far more than their peers.

Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto

Gist that I pulled from this...

John Holt book...

I'm learning as I go, but EHK12 offers an 8-week course to help us get started with planning, documenting, researching curriculum, advising... only that doesn't start until middle/end of January and I needed to make the decision to turn in enrollment paperwork after only about 2 weeks after taking the tour.  I turned it in and was relieved that the office manager said I had until January to officially decide on whether we wanted to move forward or not.

After reading several of the books above, research on various home schooling styles (Classic, Eclectic, Unschooling, etc.) and crying and talking to Scott about my fears and hopes and worries... I decided to take the leap and register for Spring Semester.  It felt insane, but also like the perfect time to try it out.

I did more research to discover that I couldn't dual enroll (I had originally planned to leave her in school until the end of Fall semester), so we had to decide when her last day would be.  It all happened so fast, then after speaking with her teachers and letting her weigh in, we decided that instead of going back after Christmas, that her last day would be Dec. 16th.  They were having a Christmas (okay, "Class") party that Friday anyway, so it was a good time to say goodbye.  SmartyPants had no problem leaving school, she was sort of sad to leave friends, but more excited for a new challenge.  School was boring.  (More on that in another post).