Homeschool, Here We Come!

 

This year,  one of my kids will be homeschooled.

I spent the past months preparing for homeschool; finding a good accredited homeschool provider for my eldest, completing requirements and turning my husband’s workstation into a classroom, complete with all the visuals and Montessori toys (salamat, Shopee). With better lighting, I think papasa na rin sa Pinterest. 

 

For the physical and logistical part, I can say we’re ready. But mentally and emotionally, I’m still anxious. I don’t think I can ever be as prepared with the important part - being my daughters’ teacher.

I never wanted to be a teacher. 

 

Okay, post-college, I imagined myself donning preppy preschool teacher’s clothes, but that’s about it. And once upon a time, when I was pregnant with my first child, I dreamed of homeschooling my children when they reach the school age. But the illusion that I could be the type of mom I read about vanished the moment the baby came out and now my husband and I are outnumbered three to two, so I thought I would never give homeschool a try. I can’t be a teacher. 

 

Don’t get me wrong. I have high regard for the profession. Both of my grandmothers were

educators (they were both public school district supervisors in their respective provinces). I have a lot of aunts and cousins who are teachers. My best friend is an excellent educator as well. So I have big respect for those who teach. I absolutely adore my kids’ past teachers. I actually consider teaching a vocation, just one that is not mine. I don’t think I have the patience for that. 

 

Then “Covid-19 happened.” And physical schools are temporarily out of the picture. I was then forced to revisit this “impossible dream” that I thought had already been put to rest - the idea of homeschooling my kids. I thought and prayed long and hard about it. There were a lot of doubts and questions in my mind:

 

Can I really do it?

Do I know enough to teach?

My kids were doing great in their previous schools. Am I doing them a disservice by putting their education in my hands?

Am I even qualified? I don’t have any teaching credentials.

How will our schedule look like? Aside from my two girls, I still have a clingy two-year old to take care of.

Will I have the patience to be my strong-headed daughter’s teacher?

Can I really do it? (yes, I repeated it, and 100 times more)?

 

But as I was reminded a few days ago, we may have been in challenging circumstances because of the pandemic, but deciding to homeschool my child was not an accident. The Lord planted that desire in my heart eight years ago, and stirred it within me again now. I could have opted to stay in my comfort zone and go for distance learning, but maybe He led us here because He has a different plan for me and my daughters this year. 

 

Like so many moms that are new to homeschooling, I still have a lot of doubts and questions in my head. But I’m welcoming it with open arms and I’m eager to know the answers and overcome it as we go along. “Today is a great day to learn something new,” I wrote in my repurposed blackboard (just saw that quote on Pinterest). 

 

I know our homeschooling journey will not be perfect, but it will be a way for me to connect with my child. I also can’t wait to see how it affects our whole dynamics as a family.

 

Okay, so here we go. Wish me luck. I'll need it.