Your Son Is In The Principal's Office

When I heard those words I was completely bewildered. My son was six years old, shy and fairly quiet. When I went to get him the principal told me that he lacked refusal skills. 

"What exactly does he need to refuse in first grade?"

"He was overheard by his teacher using a very foul word. It may be a word he heard from a classmate." I took him home and we had a discussion wherein I realized he had no ides what the word meant. I barely knew what the word meant. True, I was concerned about the socialization process and the effects his peers had on him, but I was also concerned that he needed more quality hours with me. We barely had time together after his six hours of school. He was loving the piano lessons I was giving him but the piano was always busy.

A light I had seen very dimly, resurfaced.

I took a short walk alone. When I started out I was confused as to what to do but when I arrived back home I had a strong conviction that I should homeschool that son. I wasn't sure how to go about it but I started asking questions and reading about the homeschool law in Washington State. It was much more liberal than in Utah. To be deemed eligible to teach my child I had to have two or more years of higher education and agree to yearly testing. 

 After weeks of discussion with my husband and the rest of the children my son and I went to check out of school. We met with the principal first. I explained with some defensiveness, that I knew I was sorely responsible for my son's education and that at this point the state was not able to offer him what he needed. Surprisingly he did not ask what the school was not abel to provide. Next, we went to talk to his teacher. He was decidedly uncomfortable with my decision. His argument was that he was sad to lose my son in his class. We were a stable and positive family and he felt losing us would be a loss to the school. 

On the way home, my son looked at me with concern.

"Are we doing something illegal?"

"No, I understand the law. We are doing something that is not very popular. Are you still okay with learning at home?"

I had no idea then that homeschooling would become a viable option in education.

I was following a prompting, the outcome still very blurry. It turned into a major life decision. I was teaching my own children, two to start out, and then in the afternoon teaching several hours of piano lessons. In the evening I was preparing lessons for the next day. I felt like I had a whole second education.

Teaching homeschool filled in gaps in my own learning. I taught in thematic units, covering all the core subjects under that theme.

One memorable unit was rivers and streams. We went to a local beach and dammed up water coming from the hillside to make a river bed. I was as fascinated as my children in understanding the power of water.  Although we did some seat work around our kitchen table we spent time outside and in our neighborhood learning from other adults how things worked.

Some people ask me if homeschooling worked for the kids I taught at home. They usually want to know if they were accepted into college. Yes, they were, but more importantly they grew up to be curious seekers of knowledge. 

The most important work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own home. – Harold B. Lee

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