The Grand Experiment

There has been a nagging feeling in my gut since the first day I sent my oldest son to school. "Is this right? Is this what is best? Sigh, well...I will try it. This is how it is supposed to be." It has been 6 years and that feeling never went away, even though I constantly brushed it aside.

We all (should) have an idea of who we want our little ones to be when they walk out the door at 18. I am not talking about goals such as "Get into an ivy league school, make good grades, and become a doctor". Those are impressive goals but that isn't what I mean. Everyone's goals differ but when my boys are "official" grown ups, this is my wish list:

- They will be independent critical thinkers.
- They will have life skills and be self sufficient.
- They will have work experience - even by age 18.
- They will understand the importance of serving their community.
- They will know how to approach projects (because if you understand that, you can do just about anything)
- They will be respectful, have good manners, and communicate effectively.
- They will understand money, budgeting, and finance.
- They will have a solid grasp on their talents, strengths, and weaknesses.
- They will be well traveled and exposed to places very different than home.

I think about my wish list and I understand that I only have 9 and 11 years left until that day. I want to make sure that not only their home life but their education is going to help us reach these important goals and whatever goals they desire for themselves. There are certainly other avenues to do this so please don't misinterpret this as me saying that homeschool is the best choice. That is something that I do not know. But I need to make sure that OUR choices will support OUR goals.

So here we are. Harrison is set to enter 4th and Henry and Charlie are set to enter 1st. We are headed toward the end of summer and I just don't want it to end. The flexibility. The removal of school stress. Me trying to fully understand what goes on at school drives me nuts (kids aren't the best with feedback, are they?). Their schools are fine. I just think its possible that I could do better being 1 on 3. Adam and I have been discussing this idea for the past year, so a lot of thought has gone into the possibilities.

We want to build additional subjects into the curriculum that aren't traditionally taught, such as nutrition, gardening, life skills, communication, coding, cooking, and critical thinking to name a few (yes, I am ambitious). PE (exercise) will be a daily priority and will never involve a gym - hiking and nature walks, Just Dance (a family favorite), tennis, soccer, football, running, trampoline, swimming, yoga, weights, gymnastics, obstacle courses, and rock climbing. We will reach out to professionals to teach piano and S.T.E.M. because this mama is not capable of that! And their wonderful daddy will teach history/citizenship as he is a rock star in this area.

I know that some people have the impression that homeschooled kids are socially isolated. I read an article recently that changed my perspective on that. Parents of homeschooled children tend to actively line up play dates and field trips so that they are interacting with their peers. And because homeschooled kids tend to have more time with adults, they can end up being even more socialized than their peers overall. Either way, the boys thankfully have good friends that aren't going anywhere!

Of course, the whole family will benefit from the flexibility...traveling whenever we want instead of choosing between summer/spring break/Christmas (and oh yeah, its cheaper that way!), sleeping a little later and skipping that stressful morning rush, and FIELD TRIP FRIDAYS! The twins are super excited. Harrison is hesitant but coming around.

So I view this as my grand experiment. I don't know if we will want to continue at the end of the school year. But I do know that we will ALL learn many lessons. I will better understand their learning styles, strengths, weaknesses, and so much more.

I have several friends who have considered homeschooling and I have some who may not understand this kooky idea. That is why I am going to blog about our progress weekly. I don't want our schooling and lives to be a mystery to our loved ones.

Now off to research which curriculum I will use. Please wish us luck :-)