Dear First-Year Me

This school year, my family begins our 12th year of homeschooling. I now have two high schoolers, and homeschooling looks different from what it did in the beginning. I don’t have things all figured out, but I have learned so very much about homeschooling, education, my children, and myself. Sometimes I wonder what I would tell that first-year version of myself. I could give her curriculum suggestions or recommend more structure and routine… but what I'd really want to share with her is that, despite all the worry, doubt, and hard days, it will be worth it!

For most of us, the decision to homeschool comes with a side of doubt. When I started homeschooling, I didn't totally believe I could do it. 

I didn't have the patience. How would I teach math when it's not my strong suit (that’s an understatement)? I wanted my children to have a rich educational experience; how could I provide that? What if I failed them? I feel the need to reiterate this… What if I failed my children? 

In my mind, failing them meant sending them out into the world uneducated and at a massive disadvantage! I imagined my children as grown-ups in a meeting, opening a briefcase (do people even use briefcases anymore?) and finding it filled with LEGO or art supplies. Then their co-workers would whisper, “They were homeschooled,” to explain their eccentric behavior. 

I consoled myself with the thought that it was just one year. I could handle homeschooling for one year, couldn’t I? In that first year, we explored our community, read books, went on field trips, did countless art projects, and found a community of other homeschooling families. I saw my children grow and thrive!

Their growth wasn't just academic; I saw it in their character and confidence, too.

I learned how their minds worked, how they learned, and what their hearts needed. They grew and grew, and so did I. I read books on homeschooling, asked questions of veteran homeschool parents, and discussed curriculum with other homeschooling moms.

Soon, storybook characters felt like friends. We spent time outdoors learning about plants and splashing in puddles. We played games and got together with friends at the park. My children were my sous chefs in the kitchen, my helpers at the grocery store, and my little gardeners as we planted and tended to our flowers and vegetables. We explored local museums, nature preserves, parks, and our backyard. We even had their grandmother, great-aunt, and older college-age cousins join us on our adventures. We named ourselves The Adventure Squad. 

I wasn't their only teacher. Grandma taught the kids how to make an apple pie after a day at Apple Hill (with the secret family pie dough recipe). An older cousin in medical school answered all the kids' questions about bones and the body's systems with the help of our skeleton, Stanley. Our classroom wasn't contained in our home; it stretched as far as our adventures did! Homeschooling allowed us to slow down and take advantage of the world around us. It only took me a few months to realize this was our path, and I had embraced it wholly. We were homeschoolers! 

Dear First-Year Me, 

You’re beginning your 12th year of homeschooling! I know that surprises you. Right now, you doubt yourself. You’re focusing on your weaknesses, all of the ways you could fail the children you love more than air. You’re forgetting that you've been their teacher their whole lives and that you’ve already taught them so many things.

The homeschool you build for your children will be uniquely theirs. It will be filled with laughter and silliness, exploration and adventures. You will help your children love learning. Intertwined with all of the magic and whimsy, your homeschool journey will also have struggles and challenges. There will be hard days. Days you'll feel like declaring defeat. But instead, you will keep learning, supporting, and advocating for your children. When the terrain is rocky, you will keep going.

You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need to begin. That one year you aren’t sure you can handle? It will become twelve, and it will all be worth it!

With encouragement,

Ruth