On School

I couldn't wait to go to kindergarten. The first day of school felt like a holiday to me (up until high school-ish), because I so dearly loved to learn. I was an early and avid reader and school was the place where I got new books and new things to think on. So, when Jane started preschool, I was totally unprepared for the sobs that came with it. Everyday, she would cry and say she didn't want to go for different reasons. She is also an early and avid reader (earlier than me), and was reading before she started preschool, and reading novels (Magic Treehouse) before the year ended. But she also yearns to learn.

We went ahead with the kindergarten testing in the spring, and talked to a family friend who is also one of the local elementary school principals. Advancing a grade was not possible, even though she met all the readiness requirements for first grade. Grades can't be skipped until second grade or something. We got the impression that  that there would be little her teacher could/would do to supplement her and so she would be very bored. She's also young for the grade, mid-August birthday, and so, since she was sobbing at the idea of going back to school, we looked into other options.

We started into looking at the K-12 program and a few like it. These are basically public schools online. The parent works as a kind of learning coach and there is a teacher you check in with and homework and lessons all delivered via a computer. The program in Idaho seemed very flexible and that Jane would be able to move up as she mastered skills and content.

And then we moved to Kansas.

We continued working on our enrollment online, though, and as we jumped all the paperwork hoops, we got a different picture of the Kansas K-12 program. It is the opposite of flexible. So we bowed out. And decided, since Kansas doesn't require children to be in school until they are 7, that we'd keep her at home for a while and see. Maybe we'd put her in at Christmas, maybe she'd be more socially eager and emotionally ready by then.

In the meantime, I was now a homeschooler. Education is like my number one hobby. My husband jokes that I don't really know how to have fun. Where other people have fun playing a game, or skiing, or swimming, or whatever, I enjoy learning something new. Much rather read a good book than go to an amusement park. So taking on the responsibility of my daughter's education had me hitting the books again.

And this is the new universe that I live in now. I opened the door, and I don't know if I can go back. But I'm not exactly sure that I can do what is required in this new paradigm. And it's pretty scary sometimes, the weight of what this means for my life is pretty heavy and honestly, I often wish I hadn't opened the door in the first place.

I have decided to share, in a series of posts, what I see on this side of the door, here on this blog. I considered starting a new one to share all about it, but then I'd have to come up with a clever name, and I'm fresh out of clever. I'm too busy thinking-nay, wrestling, with all these ideas, ideas I will try and share here. I want to share the why of what I'm considering as school for my children. And I'm looking for help in the how. That means I'm still trying to figure out how to implement the things I'm learning and theorizing about. So feel free to comment, share, connect me with people you know who are like-minded or are actually doing the thing I'm trying to do.

But that means there is homework. So, if you haven't seen this already, watch it. I'll be back in the next post with a summary of what I thought of it and I how I want to try to do something with it.