Homeschool is cool?

Well, to make a long story short, Luke and I have decided to homeschool our girls.  I've toyed with the idea for at least a year or so...and I was heavily influenced by a good friend of mine.  She's sort of my hero--kind of the person I'd like to be, and sometimes on a good day, I'm ALMOST like her.  I admire her dedication to her family, her talent, her wisdom, and I value her friendship.  It's like God has set me up with an amazing mentor who He knew I needed.

I watched in awe and curiosity.  Some of the thoughts that went through my head were:

"How do you teach four kids of different ages, abilities, and interests?"

"What about 'me time'?"  

"How do you know what to teach?"

"How do you know that your child isn't behind?"

"How on earth DO you homeschool?"

So for a long time, I just had a "well good for her!" sort of attitude.  As for the Holker house, no.  I was honestly looking forward to letting my big girl Celia on the bus for Kindergarten.  

But then, we signed Celia up for preschool.  It really was bittersweet dropping her off that first day...  I knew she would be fine, and so would I, but DOD (dear oldest daughter) and I have been together from the start.  All almost five years of her life.  I found myself grilling the preschool teacher.

"Are there any children in DOD's class who have behavioral issues?  She's very impressionable."  (As are most four and a half year olds)

"Would you say your class is more like playtime or will you be using a curriculum?  Because we can have playtime at our house for $125 less a month."

I had a sort of out of body experience.  Who was this person interrogating a sweet preschool teacher?  I was surprised at my own no-nonsense approach.  Poor Miss April must have thought that I was going to be one of "those" parents.  Maybe she's right!

Soon afterward, I began to feel bombarded by art projects (and I have quite the little artist!), worksheets, HOMEWORK, and snack sign up sheets, and field trip fees.  

And for reasons I'll probably detail at a later date, I started to feel a twinge of dissatisfaction with this whole "off to school, see you in 13 years!" lifestyle we were about to embark on.  

And so, after a trip to see above mentioned friend, freshly immersed in awe and admiration, a new feeling swept over me.  Acceptance.  The Holker family is going to be a homeschooling family.  Gulp.