Beginning homeschooling with minimal support

by Karen Edmisten | More from this Blogger

19 Jan 2007 09:00 AM

In my first post, I mentioned that my initial investigation into homeschooling included looking into local community support. In this post, I'll share what I found and how it affected our decision to homeschool.

A logical starting point was our faith community, but I was disappointed with what I discovered. Among fellow churchgoers, there was one family of homeschoolers, and their son was in junior high. Not the best social match for my little first-grade girl. The mom also gently warned me away from the local religious homeschooling group, as she had often felt criticized by them for her own faith tradition. She was a lovely person who eventually helped us out with basics such as state paperwork, and a bit of hand-me-down curriculum. I was very grateful for that, but, I also knew that her family and mine would not, realistically, cross homeschooling paths very often.

I knew two other women who had actually homeschooled for a time. They invited me out for coffee during my fact-seeking mission and tried to talk me out of homeschooling. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. They had both intensely disliked their experiences, and wanted to be sure I was getting all sides of the story, not just the rosy pictures painted by homeschooling books and websites.

Hmmm. So far, my local support wasn't materializing as I had hoped.

I wasn't daunted, however. I was so drawn to the idea of homeschooling that I pushed on. I looked at my options: Option One: Give up homeschooling, since none of my friends did it. Nope. Couldn't do that. Option Two: Dip into the local religious homeschooling support group and take my chances. This was possible. I wasn't really intimidated by other people's views of my faith. Option Three: Tailor support from among our existing, school-attending friends.

My solution was to combine options two and three. I took a chance on the local homeschooling group, and was glad I did. Early on, we met a family with kids who were perfect matches for mine. Our kids hit it off, and have remained friends ever since. True, our families have religious differences, but we have always respected those differences and they have never caused us a problem.

The tailor-made support came from taking advantage of opportunities to keep my daughter in touch with her school friends. We made play dates, met up on weekends, and planned special times together. And, over the course of that first year or two, although some of those friendships rather naturally faded, new ones, with homeschooled friends, blossomed.

And for my personal support? The internet, and online homeschooling support groups became invaluable and saved my sanity more than once. In this post, my fellow homeschool blogger, Andrea, called the internet her "community with no boundaries." That's it exactly. Online support connects me to the world.

In the end, I had to trust that I was capable of providing my children with what they needed. Without a ready-made support system, I had to work a little harder and be a bit more creative with our schedule and social life. But, it paid off and my kids have never lacked for friends, activities or support. And, thankfully, neither have I.

Learn more about Karen Edmisten

Karen is the homeschooling, chocolate-loving mom of three daughters, whom she has been homeschooling since their birth.

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Andrea Hermitt (5714) 19 Jan 2007 09:37 AM

I am glad your experience did not turn you off from homeschooling. My first experience delayed my decision to homeschool by several years. I kept it in my mind, but did not proceed until I felt I had no other choice.

I guess that is why it is so important people like us talk about our experiences and encourage new and prospective homeschoolers so that they feel enabled to do what is in their hearts.

Karen Edmisten (310) 19 Jan 2007 12:13 PM

I agree wholeheartedly, Andrea. Homeschooling is still seen as "out there" by a number of people, and any encouragement we can offer one another is so helpful.