I remember not remembering when my baby brother started homeschooling as opposed to going to "regular" school. It just always seemed to be - he was always homeschooled, he always had to work harder, and he always was a little "different". I do however remember leaving my cozy private school behind and joining him in the ranks of "homeschooled weirdo" in 4th grade. I remember feeling like I should be waking up early and putting on my uniform, and saying my pledge of allegiance to both the American and Christian flag before doing ANYTHING else. The rigidity of the public and private school system was my normal, but this less taxing and more relaxed system was foreign, despite understanding that it'd been going on around me, within my own home, for years.
When I emerged from the homeschooling existence at 14, entering high school as a freshman, I was overwhelmed, but excited. I'd been longing to be "normal" for several years and somehow believed I would be, simply by entering the realm of public schooling again.
I was dead, dead wrong.
Adjustment to "regular" school was difficult for me. I had a hard time making friends. I struggled in math. I was bullied. And I was miserable. It wasn't long before I put 2 and 2 together, and blamed my being homeschooled for my trials. Miraculously, I graduated, and I swore to myself that I would NEVER homeschool my own children. NEVER.
As in all things, time waned on, I grew older, I grew wiser, and I grew to understand that not all school districts were created equally, nor all "hometowns". Unfortunately for me, when I entered public high school, I entered a failing school district. My inability to grasp Algebra had little to do with my homeschooling, but did have a GREAT deal to do with my "teacher" two years in a row. 85% of her students failed, every single year, but her cheerleading squad won national championships every year. My "hometown" also proved to be toxic. Poor education, high poverty level, and terrible government decisions made my hometown a cesspool of entitled, Caucasian, middle-class snots. I was raised military AND homeschooled, and believed that we were all created equal. But what I met in my hometown in the late nineties and early 2000's was a plethora of homophobia, racism, and general small-mindedness. It took me years to recognize this and leave it all behind. And it was about this time that I started rethinking the effects homeschooling had on me.
When my husband and I learned we were pregnant, I still believed homeschooling was not the best option for us. I no longer had quite the same disdain for it, but I'd grown comfortable in my decision not to consider it. It wasn't until my daughter was 3 years old that it occurred to me that she was advanced. Not only this, but at the time we lived in yet another failing school district, and because we're non-religious, placing her in a Christian private school (in this area there is only one non-religious private school, and the tuition is far too high) was out of the question. Cautiously, I broached the subject with my husband, Joe. Joe works for NASA and has always placed a huge emphasis on education. He'd oft heard me bemoan my homeschooling years, and I feared his reaction to my consideration of it for our daughter. But, much to my surprise, Joe was 100% on board with the idea, and furthermore, had been hoping I would come around to the idea of it sooner than later. We agreed that homeschooling would become a viable schooling option for her.
Two years later, our daughter is 5 years old, and this year she will be in Kindergarten. Over the past two years we've wrestled with this decision, changed our minds, changed our minds again, and changed our minds yet again. Our decision was further complicated when we moved into a small town with one of the best school systems in the state. But, on the flipside, we found a phenomenal "cover church" (required in the state of Alabama for homeschoolers) that does not require church membership, nor a "statement of faith". Finding something like this is a rarity, but finding it just a few minutes down the road helped seal the deal: we would homeschool.
At least...for now.
And that's what this blog is about. It's about now. It's about the day to day. Charles Schultz is quoted as saying, "Life is like an ice-cream cone; you have to lick it one day at a time". And we're going to take our homeschooling journey one day at a time. I wanted to blog about our journey, but I wondered what would happen if we decided not to homeschool next year. Well, whatever happens, we're here now. We're here today. And we're homeschoolers.
So, welcome to Ice Cream Home Schooling. Pull up a cone and help yourself to some sprinkles.
