How we homeschool today

In case someone accidentally stumbles on my blog and -gasp-reads it I think I should explain how we homeschool today.

I used to be a homeschool mama to four children, all of whom learned at home. We all worked together on projects or we all sat around reading books aloud and called it good for the day. It's amazing how many subjects can be covered by read alouds. We were active in homeschool support group that provided structure to our homeschool year by holding annual events like spelling bees and science fairs. We did lots of field trips and went to park day on Fridays. To me, this was homeschooling. I always wanted to be a more diligent, creative and structured homeschool mom, but most days I was just next door to an unschooling mom. Somehow, my oldest two children survived and became educated, thinking people.

That was then. Welcome to this morning and the new homeschooling. My two younger children no longer have the blessings of park day and science coops organized by whichever mom was the most motivated. Many homeschoolers in our area have banded together to create something like a school that meets three days a week and hires teachers. Most of the teachers in the school my boys attend are parents of students, but a few are not. I teach English and History to a group of 7th and 8th graders, including my son. Now my sons have formal homework assignments, grades and GPAs. The pattern of our days is much more like that of families where conventional schooling is the norm.

The difference between our family and the public school family across the street is that we wake up on Monday morning, shuffle into the kitchen for coffee and then get started, eventually, on the homework due on Tuesday. While the boys work on assignments I record grades and write out teaching plans for my classes. My youngest son and I still spend Monday afternoons at an organic gardening homeschool coop, but only if he has his homework done for school. In addition, we still have time to pursue our passion for living history as Civil War reenactors, which we'd be hard pressed to keep up with in conventional school.

Somewhere in between conventional school and totally relaxed homeschooling now suits us perfectly. We like the structure of going to school three days a week and we like the days in between when we can work at our own pace. My boys benefit from doing more reading, writing and note taking than I previously asked of them. I benefit from teaching subjects I love to groups of students and from earning a small paycheck. This style of homeschooling is the best way for us now, just as the independent homeschooling we did in earlier years was the best for our family then. I still sometimes miss the old way and the old friends who've moved on, including my oldest children, but I've realized that this time with my youngest children is priceless and fleeting. For as long as it lasts, I am content.