Our Journey to Unschooling

There has been some interest in homschooling & unschooling. I thought I would share our journey with you.

When Princess was 3 we made the decision to put her in preschool so that I would be able to work more. I'm a self-employed massage therapist so I can set my own hours. She started with three mornings, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This was hard for her, but she handled it pretty well. Since she seemed to be doing well I decided to extend my work day and her school day.

By the end of the first week I called my husband crying. I missed my Princess so much and I hated being away from her that long. My husband, being the supportive man he is, instantly suggested I cut back my hours. What a relief!

As time went by, my husband and I saw our daughter fading away. Our happy little girl who always had a smile on her face was becoming a very somber and reserved child. It was heartbreaking.

We were in bed one night discussing what to do because it was so painfully obvious that what we were doing was not working. We didn't want to put her in public school, and private school wasn't an option for many reasons. Besides, how would either of those options be any better?! I turned to my husband and said, "What about homeschooling?" His response? "That will work!"

After that it was a whirlwind of rearranging things. At last everything was settled and Princess and I were home together. I read a lot of books on homeschooling. I read books on unschooling. I found Yahoo groups, both local and nationwide. And I found Village Home, my community...our community.

Unschooling spoke to me, although I didn't really understand how it worked for young children. How can you unschool reading and basic math. Well, I needn't have worried. My daughter is showing me how.

Many people worry that they don't have the patience for this. My husband will tell you that I have no patience. It is something I am working on. This is so worth it. I love the time I have with my daughter and I wouldn't trade it for anything.