Will (3) in our Montessori homeschool classroom, 1988.
When did I first hear about homeschooling? Couldn’t tell you. It was a long time ago. I do remember when we decided to homeschool – both times.
Deciding to Homeschool, Part 1
I owned a Montessori preschool from 1980-88. In the beginning, I was the teacher and director. Then I had teachers and was just the director.
When my son, Will, was born in 1985, I directed part-time, and the head teacher did some of the directing duties. Will always went to work with me. Then, my teacher moved out of state, and I was left without a head teacher during a Montessori teacher shortage.
So, when Will was 2½-3¼, I taught and directed again. Will was a student in my school. As a parent, teaching and directing was a different story. Being a perfectionist, I tried to do it all. In the spring, I decided I simply couldn’t do it all.
It was time to close my school and begin homeschooling. I don’t remember it being a big decision. Deciding to homeschool was simply a matter of wanting Montessori education for Will. We started our Montessori homeschool in the summer of 1988.
A Brief Interlude with Traditional School
My husband (Terry), Will, and I were all very content with our homeschooling experience when Will was 3-5. Christina was born two days after Will’s 5th birthday, and we still planned to continue homeschooling.
Then Will had an idea. We lived in the country, and Will saw the school bus drive by every day. As a boy who was always obsessed with vehicles, he REALLY WANTED to ride that bus. So, he thought maybe it would be fun to go to school.
Now, Will didn’t have any bad school experiences. His experiences in my Montessori school were very positive, so he thought kindergarten would be a fun experience of riding the school bus and having wonderful learning experiences like before. Terry and I didn’t want Will to have any regrets or doubts about homeschooling. There weren’t any Montessori elementary schools in our state, so we began our experience with a traditional kindergarten.
Unfortunately, Will’s kindergarten experience wasn’t what he expected. Even though Will was a student in what was supposed to be an intellectually stimulating private school, Will had to wait for the other children to catch up. And even though it was a religious school, there were bullies – not the kind that beat other kids up but the kind that said mean things. (This isn’t to say that a traditional school is bad. It just didn’t work for our family.)
Christina (1 1/2), Terry, and Will (6 1/2) during our first-day-of-homeschool hike at the Missouri River, 1991.
Deciding to Homeschool, Part 2
By March, Will had no further interest in attending school – ever (until college). Terry and I said Will needed to complete the school year. We decided that spring to start homeschooling again in the fall.
So, in the fall we started with a hike and a homeschool celebration – and we never looked back.
What has your experience been with choosing school or homeschool? Was your decision easy or difficult?
Hi, Deb! Good to see you again! 😉
A perfectionist who tried to do it all?! … I can SO relate!!
No doubt your blog is going to help so many families on their homeschooling journeys!! You are a blessing!
Great to see you again, Carrie! We perfectionists do make it hard on ourselves, don’t we?! Thanks so much for your kind words!
Wonderful story – so inspiring and positive. I am very excited about homeschooling our son and I know I’ll be successful with wonderful people (like you!) and the plethora of amazing online resources to help me. 🙂
Thanks, Mari-Ann! You’re always so sweet! You’re off to the most amazing start with your homeschooling – I always love reading what’s happening at your house!
Hmm, we’re in the early years of education. My oldest is to start pre-K at a small local church preschool. We had open house yesterday and I’m very excited! Then the plan is to do traditional kindergarten at a local school. I have a heart for homeschooling but it’s not looking like the best option for us at this time. I do plan to supplement their education here at home. We’ll take it day by day and year by year. I know LOTS of homeschool Moms. I also know a Mom that had her kids in traditional school and it worked for awhile (years) and then it stopped working. They just pulled their children from school and started homeschooling. They didn’t even finish the year. So with these references I know we can make choices as needed to best suit our family. I’m very thankful for the options that we have and simply trust God as he leads us each day.
Thanks for your comment, Michelle! It’s fascinating how each family is led to what’s right for their family! For some families, traditional school is the right thing – and I totally support that. I love how open you are to hearing where God is leading your family. I hope your school year is fabulous!
Wow! What a fantastic story, thanks for linking up! I’m glad there are no longer any doubts. It helps when the kids are also 100% on board…but if course, that’s not a requirement 😉
Thanks, Cheryl! My son’s experience with a traditional school really was the perfect thing to take away all doubts. Neither my son or daughter had any doubts all the way through high school! And they LOVED college. After having a happy homeschool experience, they loved learning and were just excited to experience college life – in a positive, healthy way!
Thanks for posting this, Deb. I was just thinking about this yesterday.
My daughter started in an assistance to infancy program (read: school) just one day per week when she was just learning to crawl. That was a great experience for us. Because I was working part time from home and there was not a Toddler community near our home, we completed her Toddler years and those of her 22-month younger brother at home.
I didn’t really think I could do Montessori at home for preschool, so we enrolled them both in a Children’s House for preschool. We had a great experience within Children’s House…but if I had it to do over again, I would have had them homeschool. But to be frank, I don’t think I could have handled it at that point in my life….God had not graced me with the peace that I now have through him!
My daughter went on to complete her first year of elementary school at a very small Montessori school. After the first year, she expressed interested in coming home. So we started last fall.
After seeing the return to relationship I had with my daughter, being with her as she learned, I quickly pulled my son out of his 4th year in Children’s House (LATE Fall, winter Birthdays for both, so they had 4 years in Children’s House). This was just a few months after my daughter started at home.
Last year, we used Montessori Materials and I fumbled around trying to figure out the Cosmic piece of a Montessori education and how it could fit into a homeschool.
This year, I’ve managed to get my arms around a truly Cosmic Lower Elementary education for both them. It is thrilling to watch and participate with them.
We’ve even started inviting other Homeschoolers into our Montessori Whole Homeschool one day per week for about 6 weeks. It is NOT really Montessori at all, but we share the Great Lessons (from a Creationist viewpoint) with them and they get to try some Montessori works.
I do hope to educate the parents some regarding Montessori cosmic education and maybe even following the child, but I don’t get my hopes up too high…they are textbook homeschoolers (by textbook I mean they have textbooks they follow, instead of following the child).
And it’s been good for my kids to see what it would be like to not be given the freedom to work independently. Despite the fact that all of the materials we choose to share are self-correcting/have a control of error, the parents hover. And are in hurry to show the child the “right way,” to do the work.
My 8 year old recently asked why her friend’s mom didn’t just let her do the work herself. I imagine for a parent not familiar with Montessori, hovering is a hard habit to break. And “walking away,” is probably not even considered as an option.
It makes me realize how important and life changing our decision to homeschool really is for my children. And homeschooling truly using Montessori philosophy–not just the materials-well, there is really nothing in the world like it.
Thanks so much for your comment, Staci! I LOVE hearing about your school and homeschool experiences. How great that your children have been able to have so much time with Montessori education! And it’s great that you’re helping other homeschoolers experience Montessori! Montessori education is a different way to approach learning, and I’m sure it’ll make a big difference on many levels.
Thank you for sharing. It’s always interesting to see that our reasons are so very similar.
Thanks for your comment, Jessie! I think it’s fascinating to hear how God leads each homeschooling family to their decision. As long as we’re listening, our past experiences have such a rightness about them.
Love hearing how God leads each family in the homeschool decision! God is good! Thank you for sharing your story! Have a blessed day!
Sherry
Thanks, Sherry! I totally agree – it’s amazing hearing how God leads each family! I hope you have a blessed day and blessed homeschool year!
I am new to homeschooling and I really did not know where to start or how to fit everything in. Recently I found some great tips on successful homeschooling that really helped me out. It was $17 to download this e-book but totally worth it! Here is the link: Frustration Free Homeschool!
Thanks for your comment, Ashley, and for letting us know what was helpful for you!
It was fun reading how you decided to homeschool. We are still deciding on our older kids, it’s been quite a journey. Our babies will are homeschooled and I look forward to it.
Thanks, Angela! Since you’re really listening for the answer and are open to whatever is right for your family, I’m sure you’ll be given direction! I think being open to finding out what’s right for your family is truly one of the most important parts of homeschooling – or any type of schooling!
Thanks Deb for linking up again – and sharing your history with us!
Stef
the hsv
Thanks, Stef! And thanks for another great theme for Homeschool Village! It was fun to think back on how we were led into homeschoooling.
That is awesome to have a celebration hike at the beginning of the homeschool year!! WE lasted up to 5th grade…but I have always wanted to homeschool my boys. ~On the bullying- I think verbal abuse is even more toxic than physical bullying.
Thanks for your comment, Jessica! We really enjoyed every beginning-of-the-homeschool-year celebration. I agree that verbal abuse can be more toxic than physical bullying. Fortunately, the verbal bullies in my son’s kindergarten weren’t so bad that we had to worry about any permanent damage to our son. They just gave us the message that we needed to homeschool!
What a great story. I really appreciated how you let Will try out the school so he wouldn’t have doubts and regrets. I hope to be that open when my children’s paths diverge from what I expected for them.
Thanks so much, Lauren! It was difficult when Will’s or Christina’s paths diverged from my expectations, although I can’t say it happened very often. It’s interesting that it always worked out for the best. Will was always the biggest homeschool advocate after his kindergarten experience, and his attitude helped Christina wholeheartedly accept homeschooling from the beginning.
While it can be very hard for parents to decide on whether they will homeschool their child or not, it is advisable to read around and weigh the Pros and Cons. But as for me, and with the advantages it gives our family, it is a win win all around.
Anne
http://HomeschoolingOption.com/