When I first started our homeschooling journey I remember thinking, “Okay, I have my ducks, now to put them in a row.” I began that September with a 6-year-old, a first grader, and a 2-year-old by my side. I had been a teacher with Middle School students for the last 10 years, how hard could homeschooling my own kids really be? Well….it was harder than I thought. I don’t say that to be discouraging! It was hard because I didn’t understand that homeschooling is NOT trying to recreate school at home. This was a hurdle for me. I purchased the entire first grade package of a very prominent Christian, homeschooling curriculum with all the bells and whistles. I tried to be very diligent at following all the outlines, timelines, circle times, schedules, and file all the documents in the right place to make my kids’ homeschooling experience “perfect.” Around October I was absolutely beat down! I was certain I had made the wrong decision and that I was ruining my kids forever. Been there? Sound familiar?
I talked to a veteran homeschool mom and just poured my heart out. At the end she was very compassionate and asked me WHY I was homeschooling my kids. I shared my heart about it and why my husband and I had made the decision to dramatically change our lifestyle and their schooling experience. Then she said, “So if you are committed to it being different, why are you trying to make it look like the school scene you left?” I honestly felt so humbled. Why was I so committed to it looking just like a traditional school at home? We didn’t want traditional schooling, and I had just clearly explained why we were heading in a different direction. So, I sat quietly while my dear friend just waited with me in the silence of my homeschooling epiphany. This began the foundation for our family’s very personal philosophy on WHY and HOW we would homeschool moving forward. I informed the Christian homeschool company that day that we were unenrolling from their program and I looked through the various materials to keep anything that might assist in our new schooling path (a math workbook, some flashcards, and the handwriting paper!). I took the rest of the week off of “school” and dismantled the whole schoolroom. We went to the park every day that week and I carefully watched the momma ducks at the pond. We made dioramas of the creative stories we wrote together on the whiteboard and baked banana muffins with chocolate chips. We cuddled on the couch and read stories aloud while eating lunch. We sorted laundry and toys. We danced, colored, played math games, and shook off all the trappings of traditional school as we embraced this new adventure together. To this day my oldest remembers that week vividly! It was the true beginning of our homeschooling journey! It was the best decision our family ever made.
When I originally wrote this blog post it was the fall of 2021, my little 6-year-old was entering his senior year of high school! And my 2-year-old? He was finishing up his middle school years. I still had my ducks, but I no longer tried to put them in straight rows. I learned from watching the momma duck that week. She moved through the water twisting and turning, stopping to eat, moving with the current, or getting out of the water as necessary. She had her little ducklings right behind her and they weren’t missing anything. I realized that my ducklings were the important part, and my “rows” didn’t have to be straight. We are all learning, my ducklings and I, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.