What I've learned, one month in

Before we began homeschooling, we read many accounts of families having to "de-school" for a period of time before they could really dig in and find their homeschooling groove. The de-schooling was for the kids who had been in traditional school; it was a way for them to transition to a new routine and new expectations. Mary and I didn't think a de-schooling period would apply to us because Miles had only attended the kindergarten down the street for about 6 weeks before we pulled him out.

On the contrary, as this last month passed the de-schooling was, in fact, for Mary & I, and not for Miles. We realized this the other night as we finally had a kid-free moment to assess our first month of homeschool. We were the ones who had to continually challenge ourselves to think outside the standard-education box. It's exciting every time we think of an educational concern (should Miles have grasped that vocab word?) and then question the concern (why should he? because I saw it on a state curriculum list) and then answer authentically (but who wrote that list? ... no matter, he has this word instead of that word). I was unaware of the space that I needed to let go of my old assumptions about how our kids would be educated.

This last month has passed and Miles hasn't regressed or started acting up. In fact, he has matured so much that it's actually noticeable. I know we've only been in the mom business since 2007, but so many changes happen so gradually that we hardly notice. But Miles is calmer in the evening (still goofy and hilarious!) when I come home, and the other day he pretty much did a happy dance when we said we think he can handle the responsibility of some extra chores.

Mary and I traded off 10-day long bouts with bronchiolitis (Connie got it first, poor thing) so we haven't been able to connect with the local homeschool group or do much outreach. Still, what I've learned since we started this is that the homeschooling pace is more relaxed than I expected it to be. We will connect with other families in due time. (And connect carefully ... I have noticed that some secular homeschooling families fall into the "preppers" category. Some are quite vocal about their anti-government stances, and even get into conspiracy-theory territory. Um, not exactly our type.)

Tonight Miles and I read a few pages of his new Student Encyclopedia Britannica, a gift from an opera friend of mine. He chose "Automobile" so we learned some of the basics together. I loved the look on his face when we read that the first auto was steam-powered, and built around 1770. I can't wait to see that face many, many more times as we continue our lifelong learning journey!