Homeschooling

Last year Bruce and I jumped into homeschooling our son. (Okay, well Bruce does the homeschooling more than I do.) It has been great. Our son changed from being a walking time bomb to a confident kid. Reading an article called Experiences of ADHD-Labeled Kids Who Switch from Conventional Schooling to Homeschooling or Unschooling by Peter Gray in Psychology Today back in September was enlightening. We could really relate to this article with our son.

Today we were talking with another parent who is thinking of homeschooling. I am not against traditional schooling methods (our daughter is in the school system), but traditional methods are definitely not for everyone. I encouraged her to look into what homeschooling is about, do some research on the different methods and talk with other parents who are homeschooling their kids. And I also said to keep in mind that the first year is not one to expect to get places fast. It is a year of de-stressing for the student and learning for the parent. We had a plan when we started (okay, Bruce had the plan), and some of it happened and some of it didn't. But it was still a great year.

Mostly we just keep in mind that our son is smart and loves to learn. As long as we keep educational material on hand, he learns. He even learns when he isn't "doing school." Sneaky, huh? Just don't tell him that he really never stops learning!