homeschooling // lots of play
I honestly cannot believe that it’s May already! Time always moves quickly, but this past month has truly flown by. There are so many things going on in my life at the moment, it seems like I blinked once, and April was over. As we move into May, I am reminded that the end of the school year is just around the corner. That means that Roman’s first year of preschool is almost done.
Having Roman in preschool has been such an incredible experience. This year, he went to school two days each week, for 2.5 hours each day. He has learned and grown so much. He loves his teachers and he has made the sweetest, little friendships. Listening to his stories about what he did at school on any given day makes my heart swell with so much pride and love. It has been such a blessing.
When I made the decision to become a mother, early on, I leaned strongly toward the idea of homeschooling my children. I truly feel that the modern school system is too rigid. At an early age, children are asked to sit too much, and encouraged to play too little. I wanted to homeschool my children and make the focus of their early years of education all about exploration, organic learning, fun, and love. Then, when Roman was about two-and-a-half, I changed my mind. When Roman was around other children, I noticed his lack of social skills, inability to share toys, and so on. I decided that preschool would be a good way to bring his social skills up-to-par. Gratefully, the preschool that we found provided exactly the type of learning that I wanted him to receive — play and exploration-based learning.
His preschool experience has been everything that I hoped it would be. His social skills have developed perfectly and he is doing so well across the board. He is four now, and after this summer, he will have another full year of preschool before he is ready for full-day kindergarten at age five. When that time comes, I honestly do not know what I am going to do. I love his preschool experience so much, but the jump from preschool to kindergarten is a big one. I know that he can handle it, but I simply do not know what is best for him. I have so many concerns about the education system in our country at present. Right now, I am taking things day-by-day, with faith that when the time comes, I will know what to do.
For now, in addition to school a couple of days each week for Roman, I try to incorporate a little bit of structured learning into the children’s schedule each day. Most of the time, our learning is truly play-based. We go outside and explore in nature. I’m always teaching them about the weather, the seasons, the names of plants and animals, the days of the week, and so on. At home, we are organically working on language skills and decision-making, and all of the other consequences of daily life. Sometimes, especially when the weather is bad, we work on academic skills as well. We just started working on our alphabet with flashcards and a bit of writing skills with dry-erase books that I picked up in the dollar store.
These preschool years are so much fun. While we have our challenges like tantrums and sleepiness and picky-eating, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. The entire discussion regarding homeschool vs. public school vs. private school is such a sensitive one. Education, especially early-childhood education is just so incredibly important. If I had to guess what I will ultimately decide, I simple could not! There are so many benefits on both sides of the coin. Only time will tell what the future holds.
I always love hearing other peoples’ thoughts on the subject, so feel free to share yours in the comments. I would love to know where you stand. Are your children in school? Do you feel that they are receiving the best educational experience? If your children are grown, are you happy with the experiences that they had?
Comments (6)
Pregnant Eve
May 1, 2017 at 6:34 am
With my first one also I had decided to not send him to preschool. But then when I noticed that he was socially awkward with other people and toddlers. He wouldn’t let me go out of his sight and became very clingy. I sent him to a preschool where he interacted with other kids and made friends. I am glad I changed my mind.
Dena
May 1, 2017 at 7:28 pm
Preschool has been a really positive experience for us, too, as I mentioned. Now if only I could decide what to do about kindergarten…. 😉
Liv
May 2, 2017 at 4:22 pm
I don’t have kids, but speaking from my own school experience, I was always a very shy kid and I had a hard time even though I went to a VERY small private Montessori High School. It was so bad for me that my mom ended up pulling me out right before sophomore year started, because I was having panic attacks even thinking about going to one of my classmates’ birthday parties. My point is that the whole “homeschooling makes you anti-social” thing doesn’t always apply. I went to school with other kids for most of my life and I still had a hard time. I ended up doing homeschooling for the rest of High School. I think you just have to make decisions based on your own Child’s personality and how they handle certain situations. This really isn’t a “one size fits all” kind of thing. If you think Roman would benefit from being at an actual school then that is what you should do. But honestly, if your only concern with homeschooling is socializing with other kids, there is a way around that. I don’t know if they have it specifically in your are, but where I lived there were lots of homeschooling groups. This way he can still spend time with other kids & learn to socialize. Just some thoughts from my perspective! I hope this helps!
Liv
May 2, 2017 at 4:23 pm
*area not are
Dena
May 13, 2017 at 3:37 pm
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience, Liv! This is truly helpful and your advice means so much to me. xo
Liv
May 13, 2017 at 8:50 pm
You are absolutely welcome and I’m so glad it was helpful! 🙂