Davis Schoolhouse

As I was sitting in my last final for a binary coding class, I remember fidgeting with a pencil, trying to shake my nerves. Each minute that ticked by (while I was silently praying I would get 70% and pass this class) it became clear that computer science was not for me. I gave it my best effort for two semesters, but I think I knew even from the beginning that it wasn’t a great fit. At the time I was attending college, I was also teaching preschool to help pay my way. I told my mom one day that teaching preschool didn’t feel like a job to me. I never had that pit in my stomach filled with dread leading up to class the way I did with other jobs. Teaching felt right, but my idea of success needed shifting. It took humbling and courage to finally make the leap. I declared my major in elementary education, and everything began to fall into place.

I was nearing the end of my first year when I found out we were expecting. My attention was now divided with thoughts of bringing a little one to this earth. I continued teaching preschool and attending classes. I was enrolled in a kindergarten class that changed the way I thought about early childhood education. It opened my eyes to the importance of play, and developmentally appropriate practice. I was always saddened to enter schools each semester only to find that these practices were non-existent. I imagined something different for my own children one day and I think this is when homeschooling became a quiet thought in the back of my mind.

Reading filled my spare time. I read about birth, and parenting. As I sat with my husband and midwife during a prenatal visit, she asked us what we planned to do with our baby when she finally arrived. Were we planning to cloth diaper, baby wear, co-sleep? I realized I had spent so much time planning her birth; I neglected to think about what we would do when she was here. My midwife handed us a book on attachment parenting and told us to give it a read. There were things we felt good about, and things we weren't sure about. The biggest thing we learned was that parenting in any extreme, was not for us.

I came across two videos on youtube that were pivotal for me in this journey (you can find them on the resource page of my website). Dr. Gordon Neufeld empowers parents to parent and hold onto their kids. This entails teaching, and guiding them through childhood and adolescence. He elaborates on why attachment is crucial for children to grow, and mature. He explains that attachment happens with love and gentleness, not coercion. It resonated so much personally, because I grew up learning how important the family unit is. I see more and more everyday why it needs to be such a high priority.

Jennifer Kolari spoke about ways to connect with your children and build that attachment. I loved her speech and immediately purchased her book. I feel like it gave me tools I could use every day. Neither speech nor book even talks about homeschooling, they just discuss the roots of what children need. As I listened and read, I felt like I wanted to give my children their education. At least try it out.

I began to imagine how it would be, and what we would do. I fell in love with the idea, and started researching more heavily on the logistics. Like, would my kids be totally anti social, and unable to thrive in the ‘real world?’ Turns out, that is a myth. And life is the ‘real world,’ not school. There are homeschooling success stories, even though I only remember the ones who were a bit odd. And universities actually favor home schooled children when admitting students. I read about many other myths, and in conclusion, I realized it would be okay. My kids would turn out okay, as long as I did my part.

So that is the plan for now. Life is one giant unknown, so we also plan to take it one day at a time. I wanted this post to touch on why and how we got here, as well as what kind of content will inspire the pages of this blog. It isn’t to convince anybody to home school. It is just a place to share ideas about education, and the things we are trying. I hope my experience as an educator and a mother can lend an encouraging drop of rain into the flood of all the amazing content out there on this subject.

I hope you have a wonderful day friends. Stay tuned!