As parents, we face many important decisions in the lives of our children. One of the most crucial to their development and transition into adulthood is their education. Thankfully we live in a country where parents have options.

No one knows a child better than the parents. As parents, we are acquainted with our child’s personality, strengths, and weaknesses. Some children are natural mechanics others are natural scientists, writers, or actors. Parents want to harness and nurture these special abilities. There is no better way to help our children grow than through their education.

As parents, we have to make a very important decision on the educational path for our children. There are many paths available public school, private school, military school, boarding school, charter schools, and homeschool.

In this blog, I will detail my experience as a homeschooling parent. My students will be seniors next year. I have been down this path and hope to help others who are just starting their educational journey.

Let me start by sharing with you how my journey began. When my first son was born, I loved showing him things in the world around him. Things like colors, animals, objects, and reading. The delight I would see in his eyes when he made the connection was magnetic. I dreaded the day that I would have to send him to school, no longer sharing these learning experiences with him.

A year later, my second son was born. Although just as curious about the world around him, my second son did not care so much for repeating colors, animals, and objects. Rather he was independently drawn to letters, numbers, and books. He was a delayed speaker, not talking till about the age of 4. By the age of 3, he knew how to work a calculator, write letters, and read.

When I arranged to play dates, he was not interested in playing with other children or toys, he was happiest when he was reading. At one of his doctor appointments, I presented this to his physician. After visiting a few specialists, it was determined that he was Autistic, specifically Aspergers Syndrome. Although technically on the autistic spectrum, he was high functioning.

On cognitive tests and intellectual tests, he was off the charts for children his age. But on social assessments, he struggled. He was unable to “go with the flow” or able to adapt to a change of plans without a lengthy prior warning.

Intellectually he was labeled as “gifted” but socially he was unable to conform. Knowing the public schools in my area, this meant one thing. Special Education.

Being unable to conform to the mainstream schedule of a normal day, this would present problems. He was undoubtedly intellectually gifted but could not be placed with the mainstream students; intellectually detrimental.

As I began to look for options for his education, homeschooling began to appear on my radar. I assumed that my children would attend school like many other children.

I dug deeper into the possibility of homeschooling. While my children were still toddlers I did research. Fortunately, after spending many years at University pursuing several degrees, deep research was no stranger to me.

I spent several years researching. Finally, I derived an education path for my children. In my state of Tennessee, I have to inform my local school board that my children will be homeschooled. I only need to provide proof of attendance and meet the mandatory 180 days of instruction per school year. In some cases, an umbrella school will take upon this task, freeing me of the task of any contact with my local school board.

Deciding to homeschool my children, I began laying the groundwork early. While they were still 4 and 5, I began to make education a part of our daily schedule. I turned their play time into a time for teaching; counting, writing, coloring, and so forth. By the time I started kindergarten, they were working at a first-grade level.

Another decision I made was when to officially enroll my younger son in homeschooling. Before I made this decision, I sought the counsel of his doctor, speech therapist, and several homeschool counselors. The consensus determined that holding him back due to his age would be intellectually determental. This meant my boys would be in the same grade. I assumed that at some point they would naturally diverge when we encounter the harder math. But to my surprise, next year I will have two senior students. Both my students are working at a college level in several subject.

My departure into homeschooling was unconventional. I did not plan on educating my children at home. I was presented with circumstances requiring a different direction to education.

I have more homeschool days behind me than in front of me, I can honestly say it has been an honor to homeschool, my children. It has been a long road, one that yielded many memories and treasures. The most meaningful aspect is watching them learn. Without homeschool, I would have missed all these precious moments in their education.

Now that my homeschooling journey is nearing its end, I want to help others who are just starting. In the posts following, I will share with you the knowledge gained through this experience.

In addition to homeschooling, I am a published author, multi-disciplinary writer and blog contributer. If you like this blog, please visit my portfolio of work.

The Works of Noelle Moser

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Welcome to Chicken Math University, pleased to meet you.

Noelle