Our Journey into the World of Homeschooling: Part 1

Approximately two months after our dear daughter started Kindergarten, we took her out of Kindergarten! It was a hard decision to make. It's going to be even harder to execute!

Many, many people have asked why we made the decision. I hope to share a list of the reasons soon. I think that I'm going to need to reference them when I wonder what the hell we're doing!

What I feel inspired to write about now is how I made the decision. I can't speak for my husband on how he made the decision, but this is how I made it: I trusted 'the signs.'

I'm a big believer in signs. Signs from the world. Signs from God. Signs. When we were wondering if we should keep her in Kindergarten, I started sending out e-mails to friends giving them a run-down of what was going on asking for honest feedback. I called my mom in tears most days due to my internal turmoil of what to do. I called friends telling them what was going on and asking for any insight. I even sent an S.O.S. e-mail overseas asking for help and guidance from a friend.

When I was sitting on the couch with my husband the night we made the decision, he asked, "Why are the reasons you wouldn't do this" (meaning homeschool). My answer was simple: fear. But I already had an answer for my fear, and it was from a story line in The West Wing. I accidentally found the scene on You Tube tonight.

The short version of the scene is that a man doesn't recognize the signs given to him from God. For me, the hardest thing about believing in signs is figuring out what the heck the signs are! One afternoon, I realized that I had been given the same sign from many different sources: trust and follow your gut.

You see, every friend, family member, and acquaintance gave valuable insight into our dilemma. They knew our family well and the dynamics of our family (ok, the acquaintance didn't). They related their responses to their own experiences; they recalled previous conversations I'd had with them; they assessed all of our personalities; they asked probing questions to see if we'd thought of various scenarios. Every single one of them ended the e-mail/conversation with a variation of this: "Wow. It's a hard decision. But trust your gut and follow it."

So. That's how I made the decision to homeschool my daughter: by following the signs. With a little help from The West Wing, I was able to figure out those signs so that I had the courage to face my fear. A surprising number of my life decisions have been reinforced by The West Wing scenes!

1 comment:

DandW said...

Good to have you back!
Enjoy this new adventure and try not to get bogged down in the responsibility. You will all do great and she will continue to thrive and excel.
Love to all 3.