I already have a blog draft saved on the topic of homeschooling. We are 99.9% sure we will be homeschooling our children for a variety of reasons. But one of them is the idea that children learn at their own pace, in their own time, in their own interests and the school system has no time for that. I want to give my children the gift of time and a love of learning. That's something no school, no matter how good, can gift to my children. The design of school simply doesn't allow for that. I spend a large portion of my free time reading about schooling, child development, homeschooling, etc. Michael gets really annoyed with my random facts and learned knowledge. It's a running joke that most of my conversations with him usually start with "... so on this podcast I was listening to..." or "... I read an article...". I'd like to think he still appreciates my enthusiasm for wanting to do my absolute best as a mom and teacher to our children.
ANYWAY, there are a few different philosophies, if you will, of education that homeschoolers fall under. I like different aspects of all of them, but one concept that seems to radiate throughout most of them is this idea that children will learn what they need to know when they are ready to. Maybe one child learns to read at 4 and maybe another doesn't learn until 8. Maybe one child has a mind that grasps numbers and order and maybe another clings to music and dance. Maybe one child needs to use their hands to build and create and another thinks outside the box and finds creative solutions to problems. One of the greatest downfalls of our education system is this belief that all children need to learn the same thing, at the same time, with the same group of kids. And if they can't do that then something is wrong with them. That's a simple way to put it, but that is the truth of the matter. Some higher up people decided what was important to know and then made standards to follow. They are measurable and straightforward. The problem with that is, children aren't robots. And things like creative expression, kindness towards others, and different interests are not measurable so there is no room for them in the classroom (and quite honestly, not enough time).
But I believe all children grow and learn at different paces. And unfortunately, that is not conducive to the typical classroom learning. That's a main reason we wish to homeschool. I like the idea of letting my children lead their own education. And when my children are ready to do something, they will do it.
I believe this to be true, but recently it was blatantly obvious. Isla has a pair of scissors that she sometimes tries to use. She was really interested in cutting one afternoon so I handed her a sheet of paper with dotted lines around little animals. I told her she could try cutting along the dotted lines if she wanted. She sat down and cut out the little squares, almost perfectly (at least for a 2 year old). I did not force her to sit down and try. I did not hold her hands a certain way. I did not use coercion or rewards to accomplish a task. She simply was interested, her fine motor skills were ready, and away she went. I merely provided the tools, resources, knowledge, and a little scaffolding so that she could independently get to this point.
The opposite can be said too. Maybe scissor skills for a two year old are "advanced" to some, but there are other areas where maybe she would be considered "behind". (Although I would argue she's not behind anything, she is exactly where she needs to be.) This has been a big hurdle for me to get over as a parent of two now. I do a lot of comparing. Isla was very advanced in her physical skills for a baby. While she was sitting up on her own by 5 months old and eating solids at 4 months old, Ewan has been quite different. His favorite place to be is in my arms or on the floor. He has no interest in food and it took him forever to hold his head up on his own. But Ewan is hands-down the happiest baby I've ever met. He smiles at anyone who will look at him and he genuinely seems to enjoy his life, whereas Isla was so serious that I thought something was surely wrong with her. After Isla cut those little boxes out I decided right then and there that I will wholeheartedly live out this philosophy that I believe to be so true. No more comparing. My children are going to learn what they need to learn when they need to learn it.
I believe all children to be unique and special. I think it's a real travesty that our schools are designed like factories. In go the nuts and bolts and out come machines that aren't always successful at running. If you really wanted to spend a few hours with me, just bring up the topic of education. I could go on and on and on. But for now, I'll leave it at this: celebrate the special parts of people, dig deeper into your passions, and never stop learning. Those are the things I hope to give to my children in this life too.
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