(if I was good, I'd make the picture clickable, but I'm not so you'll just have to click here
to go to the blog that started B2HS Week)
What led to your decision to homeschool?
When my oldest son was old enough for pre-school (He's 18 now, that tells you just how long ago that was.) we didn't send him. We didn't send him for two reasons, one, we couldn't afford it. Two, we were right in the middle of a big job search for the newly college graduated hubby and we didn't know where we would ultimately end up. We didn't want to start him somewhere only to have to pull him out later. Three, I never really saw any need for it. He and I (and his 2 little brothers) were having such a ball at home, why send him off to school when (from what I could tell) we were doing at home what I'd be paying someone to do with him at school.(ok, thats three reasons, sorry) This was 15 years ago. I'd never ever heard the term "homeschooling", yet.
A year later, in the fall, we were preparing for a move to another town an hour away from our home town. I remember this day SO clearly. It was one of those sunny, crisp, cool fall days, just picture perfect. Blue sky, fall colors on the trees, the breeze just cool enough to need to get out the sweaters and jackets for the first time. I'd walked to a nearby park with my 3 little ones, they would have been 4,2 and 9 months old. My oldest was playing with a little girl there at the park. All 5 of us got to building a huge turtle in the sand and this little gal and I started talking. Well, she talked, I listened. She started telling me about what she was studying in history this year. It was the Constitution of the United States. I was blown away. I asked her what grade she was in. Fourth. What school did she go to, because I knew we did not study the U.S Constitution back when I was in 4th grade. She got a funny look on her face (then I didn't know why, now I totally understand) and hesitantly told me she was homeschooled.
Homeschooled.
Ever have one of those moments when the sky just opens up and the light pours down and the heavenly choir sings "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH" and it feels like the top of your head just peeled back and God reached down and flicked your newly exposed brain and you've now got millions and billions of neurons and axons firing and re-firing and maybe even melting down to make room for millions and billions of new connections and new wrinkles in ones brain that had never been before in your entire 23 year old life?
Anyone?
"Homeschooled?"
"You don't go to school?"
"Your MOM teaches you at home?"
She skittered off home to do chores before supper. I walked the few blocks home from the park, pushing my 2 toddlers in the double stroller, wearing my baby in a sling balanced on my left hip, one thought silently ringing through my head.
"Oh...my mom teaches us at home........"
5 comments:
Beautiful! This just made me smile. What an epiphany. I'm going to read it to dd7, who is presently feeling like a Martian when people ask where she goes to school, and she says she's homeschooled.
Last night I was thinking of blogging about the first homeschoolers I ever met in my life, friends from church while I was in high school. Yes, maybe I'll do that...
I LOVE this post! How cool for that little girl to speak to your heart in that way!
This post was funny and poignant at the same time. :) I had a similar eureka moment like yours, when I realized that I didn't HAVE to rouse my three-year old son at 5:30 AM for him to make it to a 7:30 pre-school class a long train ride and two cities away.
Ah the wonderful little incidents in life to move us forward.
I loved your story, thanks for sharing it!
Not the main point, I know, but I don't know how to make pictures clickable either. It's not just that I lack the know-how, but I don't see how it's even theoretically possible, since the photo is already a link. It boggles the mind.
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