When I started out my adult life I never imagined I'd be the proud mother of six amazing, complicated and diverse little people. I also certainly never imagined that I would be a home schooling mama!
My oldest, L, is now 13 but many years ago I bought him shiny new shoes and a fancy back pack that we then filled with brand new crayons, paper and folders. I proudly brought him to school on the first day where he was so excited he could hardly stand it and I was surprised to find myself fighting back tears as I saw how grown up he was. Similarly I took two more of my babies, A & Z, for that momentous first day of school. My kids went to a regular public school and sometimes they even rode the bus. They ate school lunch when they couldn't convince me to pack one for them. I attended parent-teacher conferences, music concerts, school plays, science fairs and PTA meetings (OK, only one of those). I got phone calls from teachers about concerning behavior and worked with the school to teach and improve offensive behavior. I helped my kids with homework, made dozens and dozens of little paper Valentine's with my kids and brought treats for their birthdays. My kids made good friends and persistent opponents. There were wonderful moments and nightmare situations as our family had a very complete public school experience. L attended public school until 6th grade, A until 4th grade and Z until 1st grade. It was midway through that year that for three very separate reasons we decided we needed to try something else and give home schooling a try.
To be continued...
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