In 2007 we began our homeschool journey. Unfortunately, I didn't think to blog about it until about 2014 and that's about the time our firstborn was beginning to spread his wings and, well - time just vanished.
Fast forward to 2019 and I've been fired from my homeschool duties - well, not really. The boys are all grown up and with no grandbabies all I can do is think back on those long ago days when my boys needed my guidance 24/7.
We chose to homeschool because we wanted to travel and we wanted to make sure our children did not fall out of love with learning. So, we travelled freely and I learned that keeping kids interested in structured "learning objectives" is hard work. Eventually, our homeschooling philosophy became "unschooling" and we found creative ways to make everything a learning opportunity.
Our oldest son worked as a roofer and today he is a soldier in France. The youngest will find his groove (eventually) but for now he's interested in firefighting and gardening. Both have told me recently that they regret their decision to be homeschooled. And herein lies the crux of the matter: we decided as a family to homeschool and BOTH boys regret the experience.
I've determined, based on their criticisms of their homeschool experience, that while I would do it all over again there are some things that I would change. I'll call them "The BIG 3 Concerns of Homeschooling."
1. Buyers Remorse: Get the children to recommit to homeschooling every year. Check in with them and honestly assess if homeschool works for them. Each child is different and we have an introvert and an extrovert and they experienced and remember homeschooling differently: we didn't get them to conscientiously renew their commitment to homeschooling on an annual basis, and we should have.
2. Structure IS Necessary: Even unschooling requires structure and goal setting - mile markers, so to speak. Today they regret not experiencing "grades" like their peers. There were no social markers like "prom" or "hey, let's party we're in middle school/high school now". They don't feel connected with their peers and they don't have "war (school) stories" to share. They were free to pursue any subject matter that peaked their interests without barriers, and yet they missed out on the social - YES, social aspects of school. By the time their kids come along they may change their opinions, but if I could do it again, I would make concerted efforts to help them build social networks that span time and ensure collective experiences.
3. That piece of paper MATTERS. Canadians cannot write a GED exam until they're 19 years of age and the lack of a high school diploma still bothers them. I do remind them that they originally committed to beginning their University degree online when they were 16, but that high school diploma, or "completed high school" status on job applications is still an issue they deal with. Writing your GED when your an adult (male) is complicated for them. They're ashamed that they don't have that simple piece of paper and there's nothing we can do about it now.
Basically, hindsight is 20/20 but these are 3 big concerns that cannot be fixed - this is a pretty raw assessment of our homeschool experiences without all the fun and interesting stories along the way. Hopefully, our boys really mean it when they assure us that they love us and that they appreciate and remember fondly all the time they got to spend with us when they were children...
