Bug is only 2 and 1/2, but school choice is something I have contemplated since before she was born. J and I are both graduates of a small Christian school in our area, but we don't plan to send our girls there for a variety of reasons (which I'd be happy to discuss with anyone who asks, but this isn't the place for that). I was a public school educator for 5 years before Bug was born and have no issue sending my daughters to public school, except that I'm not a huge fan of the school district we currently live in (children and where they'd go to school weren't on my mind when we bought our house 6 years ago). With those things taken into consideration (and the fact that I have a background and 2 degrees in education), homeschooling has come up in discussions more than once, but I had NEVER considered it for preschool.
Then, I decided to join Community Bible Study this year and the times for that meant I wouldn't be able to get Aubri from preschool on time (the wonderful one I had enrolled her in!) so I had to tell them she wouldn't be coming. Then a college aquaintance showed all of the wonderful things she did with her daughter and one of her daughter's friends at home and I thought, "Brilliant! Preschool/Tot School/Mommy School (whatever you want to call it) at home!" I asked a close friend to join us one day a week and decided to do "school" with Aubri a little more unofficially the other days...Except now I'm not feeling so brilliant about it. I'm thoroughly looking forward to that one day a week when I get to see another adult and Bug will have a friend to do school with...it's the other days that concern me. Another preschool opportunity with days/times that fit our schedule opened up, but I hmmmed and hawed and hmmmed and hawed and drove Jarrod crazy with my hmmming and hawing and hmmmed and hawed some more...and in the end decided not to send her, though I'm not sure why.
Enter the week that Bug has pushed all of my buttons...yes, I want to send her to preschool! But then she wakes up in the morning and says, "We do preschool, Mommy? Preschool in the basement? (that's where our "school room" is set up because J worked so hard two years ago to finish our basement and provide a beautiful family room/play area/school area for our family) We sit on the floor and sing songs? Josh come to preschool?" And that melts (and breaks) my heart...melts, because I'm so glad she thinks it's going to be fun, she's interested in school (though I'm pretty sure she has no earthly idea what preschool is), and I know my years of being her teacher and her main influence won't last forever. Breaks my heart because it convicts me of the fact that she wants to be near me and do fun things and I wanted to send her to school.
So even though it's not really "homeschooling," we're going to give this Mommy School thing a try. Fortunately for me (my background is 3rd/4th grade, not early childhood ed), there's Pinterest, LOTS of Tot School/Teaching Mommy blogs, etc to help me figure out how to "do school" with a 2 and 1/2 year old. I have enjoyed purchasing some learning toys and we're going loosely Montessori/thematic with the assistance of Heart of Dakota's Little Hands to Heaven curriculum. And you know what? I'm pumped for my curriculum to arrive and for our "school room" (really a school corner) to be set up like I want it. Will we become die hard homeschoolers? As of now, I'm thinking probably not, but for now Mommy School it is!
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