Stephanie Currier

>>I have been wondering this too! How exactly were people introduced to
homeschooling in the first place, especially before you had children or
before it was time for them to go to school? It is not something, until
recently, that the media mentioned. I just never came across the idea until
a friend suggested it (because her MIL had loaned her a Holt book), and my
DS was in K by then (he did one year of pre-K and a full year of K).>>

I have to write an outline of sorts, because we've taken the complicated
road to get here,
and aren't settled enough even yet due to various transitions that seem
particular to our
family chemistry. LOL

-Attachment parenting.
-Tried to go back to work when dd was two, but our daycare experience being
very uncomfortable.
-Decided to come home and have a second child.
-Enrolled dd in a strict 1/2 day preschool that was praised by most people
we knew but left us feeling disapointed and our dd
showing major signs of stress...tantrums, etc.
-Walked around the zoo with my kids during the day, a lady warmly suggested
that we seemed like homeschoolers.
I scoffed...thought that homeschooling was something only very religious
people did.
-Went online to research other educational options and ask questions about
the overly-structured way that
the preschool did things. Read about Piaget and began to resent the amount
of ditto work the school depended on.
-Found that I agreed with and was inspired by homeschoolers and began to ask
questions and email people
like crazy.
-Brought home dd for Kindergarten in order to save her emotions and let her
follow her creativity
-Bought lots of materials (too much) and did projects every day...many too
complicated
-Began to see her joy return and her heart open up
-Delighted to see that she wasn't unmotivated and that "learning" was easy
-Felt depressed and isolated that many friends/family members didn't
understand our "new lifestyle"/ Was too immature to
balance that out with what we'd gained by making what had before seemed like
obvious decisions
-Felt pleased and proud that tantrums were gone and felt that we all had
*fixed* the problems (yeah right-bigger fish than we've got the pan for)
-Dd went to 1st grade in public school and did wonderfully in an academic
sense (pleased others), but had
emotional overflow and tantrums again
-Felt like we were living 1/2 a life...revolving around the school schedule
just to please people who weren't around
helping and participating in our life most of the time anyway
-Went back online got involved in homeschooling discussions, started reading
about unschooling and asking questions like
crazy again. Bought ridiculous number of books on education and
homeschooling. :)
-Brought home dd again (2 very positive yrs now but negotiating)
-Younger dd went to a sweet and more relaxed preschool for 1/2 days until
she no longer enjoyed it and the vibe changed
-Younger dd came home last year
-Finally gave up on pleasing friends and family only to find that the
strength of our not trying to please them, earned not necessarily their
approval, but respect


And that's the SHORT version.
Wish I were a more succinct person. :)

Steph

Stephanie Currier

Oh no, I went through that whole outline, only to reread and see that you
were asking
specifically of those whose children had never attended school. :)

Maybe I should mention my bad habit of Skimming? LOL

Apologies,
Steph

Nanci Kuykendall

>>How exactly were people introduced to homeschooling
>>in the first place, especially before you had
>>children or before it was time for them to go to
>>school?

For me, there was never any question. Having done the
bulk of raising and educating myself, I would never
have entrusted institutions and "authorities" with my
child. I knew I would have children one day, as I
loved them too much to not have any. I also knew I
would not send them to public school, that I had such
horrible experiences with. I knew I was not likely to
find a private school that I was comfortable with, and
did not like the institutional mentality anyhow.

When I did finally get preganat, it had been decided
in my mind for years that I would homeschool my kids
and I matter of factly let everyone know that. Later
on, when we discovered all our elder sons special
needs and allergies as he grew, friends and family
alike began to assume we had decided to homeschool
because of him. Sometimes I correct them, other times
not. I really don't care why they think we do it,
just so long as they leave us to do it.

I had a cousin who homeschooled all four of her
children when I was growing up, but they are
fundamentalist Christian and do school at home with
strict religious curriculum. When I first was letting
folks know that we planned on homeschooling ours, that
side of the family said "Oh, you should talk to your
cousin Renee. She homeschools all her kids!" It
seems like they think it must be hard to find out
about homeschooling and I would need to talk to her to
find things out. They assume that because they are
ignorant and don't hear anything much about it, or
know how to find out about it, that I must not either.

Anyhow I found my way to Homeschooling naturally, long
before I had kids. Unschooling came after I had the
kids and began to do serious research about the
legalities and logistics of homeschooling. I educated
myself about the different methods and theories and
Unschooling was a natural fit.

My husband is like a male shadow self of me. What I
would have been had I been raised by a loving family
in a small town (and been born male!) LOL So we
agree on nearly everything, and he is behind me all
the way with the unschooling, as with everything else.

Nanci K.

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