That time of year is creeping ever closer. The buds are showing up on tree branches, the snow has melted away, the days and nights are getting milder…and enrollment season is just about upon us. Lord, help us all.
Admittedly this is my first time at the kindergarten rodeo. My oldest (now five) is right on schedule to start classes come August, and luckily the only thing that we, his parents, need to worry about is finding the right fit for him school wise.
Only. Yeah, right.
Truth be told we haven’t got the faintest notion of what we’re doing yet, and within these murky waters of curriculum and socialization-based uncertainty, I know we’re not alone. I know this because the pre-k groups I’ve been lurking in are filled to the brim with similar anxieties regarding making these life shaping choices for a kid (albeit our own) that we’ve only known for a few years thus far.
We don’t know ‘how he learns’ yet. We don’t know ‘what he’s passionate about’ yet. He’s still an adorable little mystery, just waiting to be unraveled and nurtured via education and opportunity. So right now we’re dancing a nervous little jig between public school, full on homeschooling, and a not so cheap half-way house of sorts, that marries the two and could potentially save our sanity.
I rather like the idea of homeschooling, romantic and ill-informed as I’m sure I am about it right now. I love the idea of actively pursing each one of my kid’s individual passions and gifts, without the typical restraint or red tape that can come with a government run public school. I also rather like the idea that we could mosey off on vacation without all the other throngs of elementary schoolers, but that’s a different blog post altogether.
It’s not the socialization aspect that everyone harps on about nowadays that gives me pause for thought homeschool-wise though. I’ve got no doubt that simply living in the real world will allow my kids the chance to continue to develop those much needed social skills to function as an acceptable adult.
No, the major component holding me back from pursuing homeschooling full time is…me.
I’m not sure I’m cut out for it really. Will I be patient enough? Will I be committed enough? Will I know enough to even be able to pass educational value onto my mini-mes? The uncertainties are endless. Realistically, the very fact that I’m so concerned over my ability to do my kid’s intelligence and dreams justice tells me that I probably care enough to make a darn good go of homeschooling. Really though, there’s no way to ever know for sure until I’ve already jumped, and both feet are very much firmly in.
Right now, like so many of you kindergartner-to-be parents out there, we’re weighing our options and setting our priorities in place. Time will tell which way we finally lean. Godspeed fellow K-5 parents. Godspeed.
