Our Homeschool Life

When we started to tell our family our plans to homeschool, we got a few skeptical looks and comments, but most everyone was supportive. Many people said things along the lines of “that’s great, if anyone can do it right, you can.” Now, let’s be clear, I may have been a great teacher in my field, but my field was not in the traditional classroom. When I get this response, I just smile and laugh to myself on the inside, because there is no way you could get me to teach in a general education classroom. I have a Master’s in Special Education and a certification in Autism and Developmental Disabilities. I spent my educational career working with students with disabilities, focusing on Functional Behavior, Behavior Interventions, Behavioral Strategies, Crisis Interventions, Social Emotional Behavior and the list goes on and on. Needless to say, academics was very very low on my priority list. While other teachers were teaching ABCs, I was trying to keep my student from running out of the classroom and out of the building. While other teachers wore cute outfits everyday, I wore jeggings and running shoes with my hair in a bun. Am I a certified teacher? Absolutely. Do I know the classroom foundations? Yes. Am I comfortable or even enjoy teaching academics? Absolutely not! HA!

I was completely on board with homeschooling our kids because it was what was best for them even though it was out of my comfort zone. I started doing research about homeschool and what it was and the requirements. I very quickly thanked God that I live in Texas. I haven’t spent a lot of time in my life thinking about the freedoms that living in the United States of America, and even Texas, grants us, like having the ability to homeschool. When I started this process one of our concerns was the state of the world and some of the horrible things we do not want our kids exposed to, I realized how blessed we were. I was blessed to have the freedom to unenroll my children and teach them from home in the best way we saw fit with our values rooted in God. I thank God that we live in a country and state where we can homeschool and hold our babies close and teach them. I am also thankful that even with the stresses, mostly financial, that making this happen put on our family, that we did have the ability to make this happen for our family.

With all the thankfulness I feel every single moment of the day, this is not for the weak. On a regular day it looks like a crazy circus with wild clowns and untrained monkeys. Other days look like a hot mess, with maybe some loud talking (don’t judge me) and lots of surprise that we are still learning everyday. We have tried so many different things that I feel that I have researched every curriculum out there. Dramatic and not true, I know, but it sure feels that way. The one thing I have learned the past few months, is that it’s okay. It’s okay if I try 5 different curriculums. It’s okay if we try a schedule, change it, go back, and then change it again. It’s also okay to go with the flow. It’s okay to just have fun sometimes. It’s okay to just learn about God. Most of all it’s okay to give yourself a break and enjoy this time with your kids.