When this idea of homeschool first entered our conversation, I couldn’t wrap my head around what that would look like, my husband and I had both gone to public school and what is familiar is often what we teach- for better or worse. My brain began to fill in the blanks, in the somewhat annoying way that it does- before I have all of the information.
I imagined a sweet little space in my house with adorable seasonally themed borders and calendars and inspirational posters. (Remember that cat dangling from a tree poster? The one that said something like “Hang On!”) I would have a little table to sit at as my children diligently scribbled in wide ruled notebooks with sharp yellow pencils, the smell of creativity that a new box of crayons brings filling the air. Soft pillows for leaning into during story times and tidy little shelves full of math supplies and wooden puzzles. I also felt like budgeting for this sacred little one room schoolhouse could be liberal- after all- it benefits the family. Who was I to put a financial cap of the decor…ahem…. supplies needed to inspire a house full of eager learners?
Fast forward. The little room never happened. I learned that for us, homeschool would happen all over the place. Confinement to one room of our house was not in fact the plan. Learning as it turns out, happens where ever we are open to it. Sometimes it’s math in the kitchen and science in the backyard, sometimes it’s reading in the hot tub and social studies while sitting in front of the fire. Sometimes it’s all at the kitchen table- sometimes it’s all on the living room rug. As many of us have moved into an era of working and learning at home- perhaps you too have found the need to have a more mobile space as well. Sometimes it reinvigorates us all to move from room to room after a subject. Sometimes we are all cozy and stay covered up on the bench around our table.
The locale of our learning though, isn’t the only thing that is different than what I expected. I didn’t know anyone who was choosing to homeschool. I had zero framework to study. Perhaps that helped me find my style. At first we belonged to a program within the public school system where parents partnered with the school to homeschool. Children could go to take classes in either an A-la-carte system where they only took electives or they could go into combo aged classes a few times a week for various subjects more like the conventional model. Some kids did both. The first day, much to my immense surprise, the families looked a lot like ours. My visions of wagon trains with hoop skirted, butter churning women quickly dissolved into minivans and backpacks and cases with musical instruments. The parents were very involved in the program and had commitments of volunteer time. (Although I did find myself intrigued by the more edgy Mom that offered a buy out option on her volunteer time at parent’s information night. I held back a smile when some of the other parents smirked in disapproval) I began to realize that homeschool was just another way of living life-not limited to any one type of person.
For the record, we actually have churned butter quite a few times- turns out to be not only a handy demonstration for history but science as well…and I really love when our subjects weave into each other-just like real life. I don’t own any hoop skirts but my daughter did go through a vacation wearing a bonnet- as she was really into a “Little House on the Prairie” phase.
And with all things new- it took some time to figure out where we would fit in this new world. There were times when I would hear people say about us, “They homeschool” and it was a description- like they live in a yellow house or they drive a moped ( We don’t in fact drive a moped, we would need six and the younger children are questionable on the road). Then there where the others who somewhat nervously said, “They homeschool?” with a question at the end- and it was with curiosity like they too were surprised that I didn’t drive a horse and buggy. Then there was the third way people said it. One eyebrow raised, lips pursed and tone loaded with judgement, “They homeschool.” And that was not a description or a question, it was an accusation. (These are often the people that quiz my kids on multiplication and parts of speech but more on this later.) Throughout this time, the way people have said “They homeschool” has made me feel different ways- and over the course of that time, I too have gone from an unsure whisper to now a more solid Mother Bear sort of voice when I say it.
Takeaway points, don’t spend too much on homeschool decor (unless you want to), churning butter could also count as P.E. (which means it covers three subjects) and worry less about how other people say “They homeschool”, because the way your voice sounds when you say it, is the only one your kids will really hear.
They Homeschool 