Just wanted to give you all a quick update on where we are with the new school year starting!
So, after several years of homeschooling (and semi-unschooling), my nearly 5 year old son has decided (on his own!) that he would like to go to "big boy" preschool! Now, anybody that knows or has met my son, knows what a huge step this is for him! He has a very slow-to-warm personality and has dealt with a lot of attachment and separation anxiety but has just in the last month or so really started to blossom! He is becoming more confident and wanting to be left alone more often. Now, this is not to say we still don't have our moments, but we have made so much progress!
When my husband and I decided that we would begin homeschooling, of course our son's needs were a large part of the reason, but besides that, it was the most logical and natural choice for our family. I am a Child Development Specialist, a trained Early Childhood Education teacher, and a credentialed elementary school teacher and have taught every grade from preschool through 6th! I was laid off (along with over 10,000 other California educators!) from my public school teaching position when my son was just 7 months old and have been a stay-at-home parent ever since. So, why not teach my own child? I'm more than qualified. I'm home with him 24 hours a day. I have a garage filled to the brim with all the necessary materials. We also decided on homeschooling because we are a bilingual family. My husband is Hungarian so my son's primary language is Hungarian (and even I can speak and read now!). We really wanted him to have a firm enough grasp on a language that he just would not be hearing outside of our home.
"Childhood is not a race to see how quickly a child can read, write, and count. It is a small window of time to learn and develop at the pace that is right for each individual child. Earlier is not better." - Magda Gerber
But probably the biggest part of our homeschooling has been the belief that learning should be play-based. That young children should not be inside a classroom, sitting under fluorescent lighting 3 - 6 hours a day, writing their name repeatedly, and being pushed into academic milestones before they are developmentally prepared or even interested. I wanted my son's first experiences with "education" to be masked as play. To be filtered through nature. To be full of choice and adventure. To be a hands-on extension of real life at his level. For him to come running up to his Mama and Daddy and not say "Look what 'Teacher' taught me!" but rather "Look what I discovered today!" or "See what I can do now?!" That being said, I could not find a single school within a 25 (or even 50!) mile radius of our home that fit the bill! I wanted him to belong to (not attend!) a loving "hippie" (for lack of a better word) cooperative where parents and grandparents and siblings were part of the learning environment. Where the adults taught lessons that catered to individual interests or were representative of their families, cultures, or traditions; helped with preparing wholesome meals with the children using fruits and vegetables from the community garden; with maintaining the grounds, or animals; and with planning for the school's future generations. I went to a school somewhat similar to this way back in the day, and I remember feeling (as shy and anxious as I was) so empowered and comfortable and safe. I wanted that same feeling desperately for my child. And if I could not find a setting that would help to nurture not only his social, emotional, and cognitive core as well as his individual interests, talents, dreams, and his own developmental pacing? Well, then I would design that setting myself.
Come Monday (Eeeek!) my son will be attending a really cool school that is essentially a converted farmhouse on a huge acreage tucked away right in the middle of our little city. They've got an awesome outdoor educational area with horses, chickens (we'll be able to buy fresh organic eggs every week!), and a huge garden area. And while the setup is not ultra fancy, I just couldn't shake the feeling that this place was where my son would feel good about his start in education. It is very similar to life in Europe with the animals and outdoor experience, so we really loved that aspect.
He will be in the pre-kindergarten program as he is one of those "limbo" kids! Here in California, the governor has changed the laws regarding the kindergarten admittance age requirements. (Kindergarten in CA is non-compulsory, so essentially a child could stay home or be educated in some other way until the first grade or age 6 when the State would then require "proof" of alternative educational methods.) A child must be 5 by October 1st to start kinder this year (in 2014 and beyond, a child must be 5 by September 1st to enroll) and my son has a late October birthday! So, he'll be too old for 4 year old preschool but not old enough for traditional kindergarten. Although many school districts are offering a temporary class for the "limbo" kids by developing a transitional kindergarten class that would essentially either be a full-time 4 year old preschool or a mini-kindergarten class (without a separate state-approved curriculum or instructors with experience teaching transitional kinder), this was not the choice for us.
"Every good parent homeschools their child - and supplements their endeavors with books, curriculum, and a private, public, or religious education." ~ Unknown
Since we will be starting him off at only two half-days a week, I will still be homeschooling and we will consider his experience at his new school as fulfilling his developing social needs. I will still be his primary teacher (as any parent is!) and will continue to focus on play-based, interest, and child-led learning activities. If he thrives and loves his experience there, we will consider enrolling him an extra day or two. If he decides this is not what he's ready for, then we will continue on with our homeschooling plans.
When we first started our homeschool journey, as a parent and a teacher, I always believed that if my child ever expressed an interest in attending a conventional school that I would honor and encourage that choice. I was not going to force an educational lifestyle on a child that wanted something different purely for the sake of saying that we are "homeschoolers". I have many years of experience with the public school system and have seen the "homeschooled" kids come and go. Some are ready for a mainstream education and choose on their own accord to attend (even with parents not being fully supportive). And I have seen a few students be pulled from a public education for homeschooling and you could just tell that the child was not going to thrive. There are so many educational options and none of them have to be 'all or nothing'!
That being said, I am realizing now (even with all my years of training and experience on the other side of that big desk!) that just as Dr.'s make the worst patients, Teachers make the worst 'parents'. Hands down. I am anxious. I am apprehensive. I am unsure. I am teary. I am maniacally scheduling and rearranging extracurriculars. I am shifting bedtimes. I am wondering if naptime will be making a long-awaited come back. I am worried about traffic and being on time in the morning. I am reinforcing manners and acceptable "classroom" behaviors. I am desperately searching for 'no waste' bento lunch boxes and a backpack. I am dreading coming up with new ideas for filling that bento box with cutesy Pinteresty foods. I am searching for the perfect Pinteresty "First Day of School" sign ('cause you gotta have the sign right?!). I am filling out mountains of paperwork. UGH the paperwork! Why is there so much darn paperwork! And why isn't any of it online with speedy auto-fill boxes?! OMG This is the hardest thing I have done as a parent. I am so not ready for this change. But I know in my heart it is the right thing for my child.
That being said, I am realizing now (even with all my years of training and experience on the other side of that big desk!) that just as Dr.'s make the worst patients, Teachers make the worst 'parents'. Hands down. I am anxious. I am apprehensive. I am unsure. I am teary. I am maniacally scheduling and rearranging extracurriculars. I am shifting bedtimes. I am wondering if naptime will be making a long-awaited come back. I am worried about traffic and being on time in the morning. I am reinforcing manners and acceptable "classroom" behaviors. I am desperately searching for 'no waste' bento lunch boxes and a backpack. I am dreading coming up with new ideas for filling that bento box with cutesy Pinteresty foods. I am searching for the perfect Pinteresty "First Day of School" sign ('cause you gotta have the sign right?!). I am filling out mountains of paperwork. UGH the paperwork! Why is there so much darn paperwork! And why isn't any of it online with speedy auto-fill boxes?! OMG This is the hardest thing I have done as a parent. I am so not ready for this change. But I know in my heart it is the right thing for my child.
OMG Really? *sigh*
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And I blog daily over at The Krazy Coupon Mama! Frugal living at its finest! Money-saving tips, lessons in couponing, daily deals, freebies, product samples, printable coupons, giveaways, store deals, and more! Because Budgets and Babies Can Make Anyone Krazy! ™
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