We’re kicking off a new series here at Vintage Kids | Modern World for those of you just wondering about homeschooling! Maybe you’re wondering if it’s right for you? There are a lot of factors that go into the decision to homeschool, and we want to give you some information to make that decision a little easier! We have an amazing team of guest bloggers that will be popping in now and then to give you their unique perspectives and to answer some of your most curious and pressing questions about that weird sub-culture that homeschools their children…
And for today…
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I want to homeschool…but I’m not the homeschooling type.
Trust me. I get it.
But also trust me when I say that homeschooling now is NOT even remotely close to what it was 20 years ago. Even 4 years ago.
The face of homeschooling has changed and the stereotype of a homeschooling family has changed as well.
…Ahem. Let me start by saying that this post has the potential to offend some of you long-time homeschoolers out there (or, really, just some of you in general) but I mean no harm and no offense in what I’m about to say. Trust me, please, and don’t unsubscribe or de-friend, un-pin me or un-twitter me. or anything.
I’m simply getting ready to say what we have all been thinking about the homeschool movement of days gone by.
(oh boy. please don’t hate me. I love all of you. truly.)
For those that don’t homeschool, looking in on those families that do, it’s easy to form all kinds of weird assumptions and stereotypes. For example, when I first had kids, I was leery about the thought of homeschooling because…
my kids watch TV, and obviously, homeschoolers would never do that. [grin]
I love to bake, but quite frankly, cooking with my children drives me bonkers, and obviously homeschooling moms always bake with their children, and enjoy every minute. (you see where I’m going here, right?)
I don’t know how to sew.
I worked in the corporate world for a long time, and sometimes, when both kids are crying over their math lesson on the same day, I want to go back.
I’m not a patient person.
I don’t have 15 children and an immaculate house.
I run a small business, (two, actually) so my time is divided.
As artsy as I like to think I am, doing craft projects with little kids makes me twitch.
Just the thought of unending salt dough maps makes me tremble.
I like talking to adults, and being alone with the 4-foot-and-under crowd day in and day out was a little daunting.
Taking my kids to the library totally stresses me out (and our library fines are so high right now that we are banned from checking anything out because someone had to have that extra Little Critter book –that we already have – which we then proceeded to LOSE.) (but I digress.)
So all that to say, there were things about myself, and things I saw in other homeschooling families that I knew just didn’t mesh. I wasn’t the kind that could homeschool.
But the crazy thing is, I’m exactly the kind that IS homeschooling.
Whether your’re a homesteading hippy or a CEO, you can homeschool, and there are others just like you out there doing it too.
This sounds strange, but homeschooling doesn’t really have a “face” or a “poster child” any more because modern homeschooling simply looks like YOU. Like your family.
It adjusts in time, curriculum, crafts, field trips and schedule to fit your unique personality and season of life. There isn’t really a way to stereotype homeschoolers anymore, except maybe academically. [wink, wink]
And to prove it, I have some amazing guest bloggers that are going to be joining me over the course of this series. Most of them have their own blogs, and they aren’t about homeschooling.
Now, let me just say that I ADORE homeschooling blogs. I envy your adorable school rooms, pinteresty-creativeness, and dedication to laminating everything. I’m just not you. And I’m not supposed to be.
We homeschool because it’s so incredibly right for us, but it’s not always note-worthy or pinterest-worthy.
And I don’t think my other guest bloggers will mind if I say that about them (uh…right, ladies?) We’ve all learned and grown and failed in this thing called homeschooling, and it’s simply become an extension of our family-life and rhythm. I purposefully invited other homeschooling moms to guest post for us, that don’t NORMALLY blog about homeschooling. They have all homeschooled their children at some point because it’s just what they do. Now, I’ve asked them to start talking about it!
Over the next few weeks, you’ll be hearing from me, Joy (who blogs here at VK|MW now and then), Shanda from The Upside-Down Pastor’s Wife, Kristina and Daja from The Provision Room, and Katie from Riddlelove. Go check out their individual blogs and get to know them. They are all completely unique in their lives, interests and passions – but they all have experience in homeschooling and each in their own way!
This post is linked to Better Mom Mondays, Titus 2 Tuesday
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