The Decision

You know those friendships you see in the movies and on TV? The kinds where women understand each other and are there for each other...no cattiness or jealousy? The kind that are true and real? Well, I'm fortunate enough to have one of those with my dear friend Heather.

Heather is a solid woman who is an amazing wife and an incredible mother to three children...who are great friends to mine. And today, she changed my life.

I was discussing my thoughts on homeschooling with her for the thousandth time (she's very patient). I was telling her, once again, how it was something my husband and I had always entertained doing...especially when we lived in the city of Milwaukee (Bay View, to be exact) and also when we owned a hobby farm in rural Belgium (the city in Wisconsin, not the country). But when we moved to our current town, where the schools are wonderful, we questioned ourselves because homeschooling was no longer a necessity.

The issue has been troubling me more lately because my son August will be in first grade next year...full day. He currently attends kindergarten. He (and another lovely little girl) are the only ones who go half day (2.5 hours) in the morning...the rest of both kindergarten classes go full day. Fortunately, the teachers and children in his class are wonderful and it's never been an issue. In fact, I've never really had an issue with the school. I can't think of anything bad to say about it. Which is why the decision to homeschool has been a tough one.

Heather and I were talking about our town's great schools once again, but then I began, for the zillionth time, telling her the reasons I feel homeschooling is right for my family...here are a few of them:

• We are a tight family with a pack mentality.
• I want our children to not only be siblings, but to be friends...rooted in endless time together in the early years truly getting to know each other.
• I believe socializing children is not done simply by peers their age but by all humans who interact with respect and truly model positive social situations. That can be with the man who works at the grocery store, children at the library and parks, or the single neighbor across the street who shares her abundant homegrown vegetables.
• Our children learn better through hands-on processes they can relate to...unfortunately, lessons like that are the exception in most schools and not the norm.
• Our children are intense individuals who have many passions (movie-making, art, photography, music, and many other time-consuming hobbies).  I want them to have endless fee time to hone their skills and discover their callings.
• We are a Christian family and would like to incorporate faith into their learning.
• My husband and I were both education majors in college, three years each, before we both changed our majors to communications (what a coincidence). So we've learned a thing or two about how children learn and how best to do it.
• I've read a lot of research on education and children's development and have learned that children typically do better in a school environment when they enter at age 8 or later.
• I feel like if I don't give it a shot, it'll be a huge regret.

But most importantly, when everything is boiled down, I've just always had a feeling that it would work for my family. And that is what matters. It needs to be a good fit for everyone involved...including my husband who would have to be understanding that some nights when he gets home from work, there may still be work to do...or I may have to get out of the house for a much-needed break. And he is on board with that.

I was ranting on and on when Heather stopped me and said, "Shannon, I think you should do it. I think that if you don't at least give it a shot, you'll regret it. And this is the year to try since Martha has one year before kindergarten." And just like that she cleared my head and made the skies part. Just like that I knew I was going to homeschool next year.

I instant-messaged my husband and said, "I've decided to homeschool." He replied, "OK - no argument from me!"