How Did We Get Here?

I never thought I would be a homeschool mom. Since I was a kid, I wanted to be a teacher. After completing my undergraduate degree in Secondary Education and my graduate degree in Curriculum & Instruction, I went on to teach in public schools for six years until it became possible for me to stay home with our kids. I loved teaching, but I wanted to maximize my time with my kids while they were little and knew the classroom would always be there.

We live in an area that has a huge homeschooling population and as I met other parents in our area after leaving my job, it became rare to meet anyone that wasn’t planning to homeschool their kids. This was a strange phenomenon to me as a former public school teacher, but it did intrigue me. I knew the public schools my kids would eventually go to weren’t the best and I knew I had the skills to teach them myself.

After looking more into what the possibilities of homeschooling could mean for my kid’s childhood and educational experiences and, admittedly, being a bit disillusioned with many aspects of the public school system, I decided to embrace homeschooling when my oldest was ready for Pre-K and see where it led. It didn’t take long for me to feel like this decision was one of the best we’d ever made.

I connected with many other homeschooling parents and I could tell that my experience in education made it a much less overwhelming experience for me than some of the other parents I knew. I could also tell that with a little more support, they could probably have a much more positive experience as a parent and their children would have better experiences as learners. As an educator, I am passionate about children’s learning and the value it adds to their lives. If your family chooses to homeschool, you can offer your child an education superior to what a traditional school can offer in many ways, and I hope the resources and ideas you find here can help you do just that. Thanks for being here. You got this!