Unschooling in Portland (Oregon)

“What? You homeschool? I could never do that.” If I got a dollar for every time I've heard these phrases during the past two years of homeschooling my children, I'd be rich. This announcement usually sends people, young and old, on rants about why they can't homeschool, why they would never “do that” to their children, why they admire my incredible patience or my obviously amazing intelligence, for otherwise I would of course not even consider educating my own children. I find it amazing just how intimidating the idea of homescholing must be to many, if every time I mention it, people seem to feel the need to justify their reasons for sending their children to public school, when in reality I don't mind or care. The truth is that I'm neither exceptionally smart nor do I possess incredible patience, and the beauty is that neither of those attributes are needed to homeschool.

Our homeschooling journey started about three years ago, when friends started frantically searching for the “right school” for their offspring. Public schools had a terrible reputation, which, for

many, left charter schools as the only acceptable option. I decided it was time for me to look in to the subject “school” as well. So one day I drove by our local elementary school to see just where I was supposed to send my daughter for the better part of the day. As I approached the large window-less brick building with a high fence all around it, I swallowed. I imagined my daughter sitting inside this hermetically sealed prison, waiting for one class to end and the next one to begin. I felt queasy, horrified, and a little sad for the kids already trapped inside. There was exactly one logical consequence: sign up for the local charter school with a sign up list as long as the Colorado River.

The following day I took my children to a friend for story time. Her eight year old daughter opened the door, and my first thought was, that this child is obviously cutting classes. Her mother quickly enlightened me. She homeschooled both her daughters. I asked her all the same questions every parent asks a seasoned homeschooler. What about socialization? What curriculum are you using? How do you know you're getting it right? Aren't your kids driving you crazy? My dear friend answered all questions, showed me all of her school materials and let me borrow every homeschooling book on the planet. From Mary Griffith's “Homeschooling Handbook” to John Holt's “Teach your own: The John Holt Book of Homeschooling”, I read them all. And with every page I read, and every piece of information I swallowed, I grew closer to the other, very tempting solution for me and my children: start homeschooling.

Amazingly enough, convincing my husband was much easier than anticipated. From other homeschoolers I'd heard that it is usually the husband who for one reason or another does not support homeschooling as the best education option for their children. My own husband, however, jumped with joy, as I announced to him that I wanted to pull our daughter from her Montessori preschool. And while saying good bye to her beloved teacher did not happen without a few tears on her side and a few angry

comments at me from the teacher's side, we stuck to our plan of pulling her out at Christmas. The first few months were overwhelming, confusing, and somewhat frustrating, as I was struggling to make any sense of the flood of information provided to me by many other homeschoolers. I had to change my school thinking to non-school thinking. I had to realize that my 5 year old child actually did not need to read or do Maths or learn Science right then. Slowly I was able to let go of my own perception of what and when my daughter should learn, to accepting her idea, her likes and dislikes. I learned about eclectic and classical education, about phonics and word recognition reading, about the Montessori approach to Maths as supposed to the traditional approach.

Two and a half years later my daughter does exceptionally well. She's only seven years old, but reads at the level of a ten year old. She adds and subtracts, multiplies and divides, learns languages easily, and has a great interest in anything historical. She learns Hieroglyphs, identifies rocks and fossils, and she composes her own music on the piano. My son, who is a little slower in just about any subject, has just started to develop an interest in letters. And between studying dinosaurs and the solar system he too keeps busy.

Of course the socialization question has been answered a long time ago. The number of homeschooling groups is almost overwhelming, as are the many activities offered to homeschoolers. Between teaching coops, sports classes, science field trips, community service, and Girl Scouts we are now struggling to cut the number of activities to a reasonable amount, so as not to spend every waking hour out of the house.

Are my kids driving me crazy? Absolutely! Towards the end of the non-school year I find myself eating more than my share of chocolate, and every so often I swear I'll drive them down the street to the public school, where I'll leave them for the rest of the day. But the advantages and the very valuable time I get to spend with my children far outweigh those dark, chocolate-heavy times. And besides, homeschooling mothers are excellent networkers. I could attend a Moms Night Out through different homeschooling groups every single day of the month. Something tells me though, that this time convincing my husband will be just a bit tougher.