WILD + FREE!

Dear friends,

As my little gets closer to the "pre-school" age, I find myself thinking more and more about how I want to go about her schooling. When I was a child, I experienced both regular school and homeschool.  I started out in regular school, but was dreadfully shy as a child. I began to physically get sick to my stomach throughout first grade and although my grades excelled and I liked my teachers, the social aspect was too much for me at the time. There were many reasons in our home for us to begin homeschooling, but this was just one that my mom saw needed to be changed in my life. I will FOREVER be grateful that she did. 

Some might have said to keep me in and that my shyness would get better with age. I'm so glad that my mom didn't think so. For me personally, it was one of the best things my parents ever did for me. I absolutely thrived though homeschooling. I could actually focus on my work, not be tied to a chair and I loved that it was just me and my brother...not a huge classroom (and yes, we had friends). My mom had been a teacher in the school system for years already, so we had lesson plans and everything else that we needed to thrive educationally. I LOVED IT!

Fast forward to age 14. I loved my parents, but I had hit the teens like a Mack truck and wanted to be around a school and in that environment. My parents listened and they made it happen! My parents gave me the education I needed, when I needed it. 

As a mother, I look back on both experiences and have considered my options for my own child. I fully realize that every child is very different. They learn in different ways, they are different socially...everything. I don't believe that there is one single way of schooling that fits every child. I think it needs to be tweaked and tailored for each child throughout their school years. Homeschooling  now isn't what it was in the early 80s. Back then, we were all just considered weird. Homeschooling itself was weird to people. If you were a homeschooler, then you must've been super sheltered and you had no life (not true). Interestingly enough, all of our dollars and coins bear the face of a homeschooler...our country was founded by homeschoolers! Whether your child is homeschooled or goes to a school building, there is always room to be different. 

I know what I believe in. I believe in a very hands on approach of learning. I believe that nature itself holds a myriad of learning possibilities. I believe that you can sit on a rock by a creek and read a lesson, I believe that math skills can be harnessed using unique materials. I also believe that worksheets and lessons have their place. Each in their own and right time. I found myself compiling an array of teaching methods because just one is way too monotonous for me. If I expect to light fires under my own child's interests then I need to be on fire for it first!

Recently all of my desires were given a name: Wild + Free! One of my best friends (who knows us so well) mentioned it to me and I was immediately smitten upon reading the website! Wild + Free is simple. It is a community of like-minded mamas and dads who want their child to receive the education they need and yet, have a Wild + Free childhood. A childhood that is filled every single day with nature, life, reading, art, music, conversation, exploring, getting dirty...whatever it entails. What I love is that this isn't just a concept for homeschoolers. There are Wild + Free parents who have their children in a school building too. If you're interested, you can read about it all yourself on their website: Wild + Free

This is exactly who we are in this moment in time. Wild + Free! I value education. I value respect. I value nature. I value childhood. Everything that I love and want for my own child right now has found a name...Wild + Free. More importantly, it's exactly who she is right now. She is a quick learner...very quick...scary quick. She's barely three and can count to 50, she can already write some letters, she can spell some words, she has known the entire alphabet since she was 20 months old, knew 115 signs in sign language before she was 2 and so on. I know who she is. She loves the presence of other children, but loves nature even more. We will continue to be apart of groups, families, co-ops even if we so choose. We will tailor each year and evaluate the next. 

I have the blessing of being able to be at home with my child. Since my work is through my home, I am here. What better situation for me than to teach at home too? Will she always be homeschooled? I don't know. Will she go to a school building one day? Perhaps. We will take each year at a time, savor every experience and opportunity we are given and seize the power of learning in every unique and inspiring way possible!

If you plant a flower in a pot, it might thrive...it might continue to bloom and grow. If you plant a flower in the ground, it might thrive...it might continue to bloom and grow. In either situation, that flower needs to be nurtured and placed in the right environment for that specific type of flower and for that season of life. It may need sun or shade, it may grow best when given more space or it might grow best when crowded with other flowers.

Seed packages always come with guidelines, but there is no guarantee. There is no guarantee put on my child... but for now, in this moment...we are Wild + Free!