(Another one, huh? I know, it's like we're breeding.)
But yes, I'm a homeschool parent. And I cuss. And I don't love Jesus. Actually, that's not entirely true. Jesus was an awesome guy and if we all lived like him the world would be a better place. But I don't necessarily consider myself a Christian homeschooler. I'm too much of a free-thinker and don't like the scare tactics of modern day religion.
In the short time we've been homeschoolers (since Nov. '10), I've realized one of the first questions we're asked is why we homeschool. Apparently deviant behavior always requires an explanation. When making this decision, we realized we had twenty reasons to pull our 4th grader out of public school and only one reason to keep him in. And I didn't even count the pro reasons of two-martini lunches and someone to take out the trash during the day, both of which are scale tippers in my opinion.
I could list all of the ills of his public school on one hand (okay, more like four hands), and on the other I could list all of the ways I bucked the school. I've played my part and that is the mother of an eccentric child. (Maybe I should add an opinionated mother of an eccentric child.) I went to bat for him time and again, and when you're dealing with government bureaucracy, that's the definition of insanity: trying to bring about change.
I was done and so was he. I stopped believing I could make the system better.
So here we landed, back in a world where the love of learning burns fierce in my son's eyes. Where knowledge is magic and not limited by a computerized reading test range. Where discoveries spark imagination and mom sometimes needs a two-martini lunch.
We're home in so many ways.
