This past summer, my son turned five years old. He proudly tells everyone he meets about this great milestone. The most common response: “Are you starting school in the fall?” 

Well, sorta. We’re homeschooling!

Homeschooling has always been a part of our plan. Before my husband and I were married we talked about our ideals for our future family. I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom and he wanted me to home school our children. My husband was homeschooled til high school and then attended public school for two years by choice. After this experience, he knew that homeschooling was what he wanted for his children. In truth, I was originally hesitant about it. However, by the time our oldest son was born, I was all-in. Our children would be homeschooled. 

As every mother does, I started teaching my son on day one. We read books, sang songs, and learned our colors. As he got bigger we started doing messy science experiments and cooking together. By now, we’ve completed our first year with a local home school co-op. We frequently explore children’s museums and nature centers. The little guy loves watching robots on YouTube and building his own bots. He asks a lot of questions and I do my best to answer them. We have spent very little time in workbooks, but we have spent a ton of time learning. I don’t like to think of our home school journey as beginning this fall. It has already started. Nevertheless, I can’t deny the milestone.

We have officially started school. 

I purchased our workbooks and I some #2 pencils. We started doing structured lessons using an actual curriculum. Although I’m excited to officially start, I know that this will be a challenge for us. We need to settle into a routine and manage our time better. I’ll need to break free of my public school mindset and figure out our learning style. I’ll have to be patient and my son will have to work through his stubborn nature.

Specifically, during our first lesson he told me “I don’t need to do this, Mom. I already know everything.”

Uf. Ok, then. 

Am I really ready for this? Not really. Is anyone ever ready for the new challenges in parenting? No, of course not. There will be a lot of growth for us both. I’m just praying that we will have a positive first-year experience (and that Victor, who already knows everything, will learn a thing-or-two).