Educating at Home

My world and my newsfeed is abuzz with "back to school" or "first day of school" chatter.  Caught up in it, I'm eager to dress my child up, load her with a backpack and send her off to that magical place called "school."  And I do -- a couple days a week anyway.

But as an educator, a reader, and one who's been exposed to many different educational styles, I'm thinking through this whole process of education. Actually, I've been thinking it through long before I ever had a child.  I began the process of analyzing my thoughts on education as a teenager when I compared my elementary homeschool days to my junior high and high school years in a non-traditional Christian school.  As a young adult working as a behavioral health aide in the public schools, I further processed the type of learning mold squirmy 5 and 6 year olds were herded into on a daily basis.  I didn't like what I saw there. I remember a free-wheeling family in my church where I grew up firmly advocate and implement the "unschooling" philosophy where their children's interests were completely self-directed and unchecked/corrected.

My take? Perhaps something in between.  I saw the phrase "relaxed homeschooling" when I googled a name to give to my approach.  I also saw "unstructured homeschooling." I want my child to learn discipline and structure.  My theology will not allow me to have a completely child-centered, child-directed approach to schooling.  However, my  experience and observations shows me that forcing kids into a highly structured learning environment at a young age will surely and almost certainly create a distaste for school and a hatred for learning by default.  I want something different for my daughter.  I want to foster and promote her natural love for learning.  I believe all kids do naturally love learning, to a degree  -- it may be just a matter of finding their interest or learning style that when capitalized upon comes to life.  I can't speak from years of parental experience.  I am a teacher and have taught all ages. I have been a student in many different types of educational settings.  Now I embark on the journey of pursuing the best course of education for my daughter.

The following blogs will chart my journey.  Embrace and enjoy the journey with me, and feel free to share thoughts and ideas from your own journeys.