Passion.

I am passionate about education. Nothing is more powerful than the ability to learn, the drive to continue seeking new knowledge, and the courage to think again.

I knew from a very young age I wanted to be a teacher. I always kept sight of that goal. I remember helping my peers in elementary school classes, tutoring, teacher cadet in high school, and receiving my master’s in elementary education in college.

I still remember the faces of the kids I was lucky to teach. I hope they remember my face and maybe a thing or two I taught them. In my classroom, I was where I belonged. I loved teaching, talking with my students, helping them tackle problems bigger than math, and the everyday challenges it presented me. Being a teacher was my endgame.

Obviously, COVID happened, and I was pregnant with my first child. I don’t know if things would have always ended this way or if it was just the perfect recipe for anxiety-inducing panic. But it became apparent that there was no way I was going back to work after having my baby. My rant on the treatment of postpartum women and maternity support will have to wait for another day; however, with those failing systems in place- I knew I wouldn’t be okay. I did not want to leave my baby to go back to what I thought was my dream.

Because of this, my dreams changed. I now find myself a stay-at-home mom of two and plan on homeschooling in the future. My daughter just turned 3, and my son is 16 months old. We have quite a bit of time before “formal” education begins. Still, the person I am is already questioning what that looks like.

I have many thoughts, ideas, questions, and concerns when planning for my children’s education. I am capable of doing it and doing it well. However, I don’t go into anything blindly. When I decide to do something, I like to know everything about it. So I have already begun a dive into the homeschool world to see what’s out there- what people are doing and using, their successes and failures. I’m trying to imagine where we, or I, might fit in this community.

I am early in this process, and there’s a lot I’ve seen that really inspires me. I love that our homeschool day can be what I make it. There doesn’t have to be strict, set schedules, like an allotted time for math that must be wrapped up and moved on from, even if we didn’t finish. We are free to hone in on our interests. We could spend an entire day exploring a science concept with experiments, repeated trials, and variables galore. I don’t have to stick to any one curriculum; we can pick texts we love and toss away those we don’t. Any day can be a field trip! I can welcome in the real world constantly. My kids will be exposed to all different types of people because I will take them to all different kinds of places. We can join as many groups, teams, or classes as we want. Experiences will be one of the most significant pieces of our education puzzle. I bask in the freedom of it all.

However, while exploring the homeschool world, I still have questions and concerns. I don’t necessarily see my perfect solution yet. I love the freedom, but I still want some guidance. The popular homeschool curriculums don’t line up perfectly with my values. I am not interested in cookie-cutter, cutesy, fully computer-based, or death-by-worksheet homeschooling. Most of these curriculums are also incredibly expensive, so picking and choosing what I like from each is not feasible. I am experienced in lesson planning, and creating or finding great resources, so looking at subpar curriculums does not excite me. I have seen it happen in schools too many times. An absurd amount of money is dropped on a new resource for teachers to only use maybe 30% of it.

Homeschooling approaches seem to be vastly different than what’s happening in classrooms too, which is seen as a perk by many, and I agree. Still, the teacher in me sees gaps as well. So far, I haven’t found what I’m looking for. It’s possible it doesn’t exist, or maybe I just haven’t found it yet.

Another option- I am destined to create it.

I am at a crossroads right now. I have this passion and interest to support my family’s growth and education. Maybe it could be bigger than that too?

I could be talking out of my ass, but I read something this morning that provoked me to examine my passions and how saying yes to them could change my life. There is nothing I believe in more than a sound education. I want the best in the entire world for my own kids. What parent doesn’t?

If in doing what I’m going to do for mine regardless, I could uplift another parent and kid, why not put it out there? It’s like that idea of us being so willing to pick up what someone else is putting down and believe in them; why not me? I have ideas worthy of sharing. I am worthy. I can do hard things. Is it ridiculous to imagine my passion project blowing my mind with its reach?

I don’t know what this looks like in action, but I am clearly already here on this platform sharing my hopes, failures, and triumphs- so for now, that’s what it is. I’m committed to pushing myself to keep learning and seeking answers. I’m going to share how that goes. So know this post came organically from my musing in real time (a little insane to admit that this kinda just came to me, and now 54321, I’m putting it out to the world), but moving forward, I am dedicated to one homeschool post a week. I will share what I’m researching, applying, worrying, or questioning, and we will see what develops.

That thing I read this morning that inspired this post about my passion said to take it and explore. See the doors it can open for you. When the right door opens, know when to run through. My eyes are open. I am listening to my gut. I will seize the opportunity I create for myself.