Introductions

Hello everyone--
  I'm Alexander's mother. I am the main "teacher" in our household, although my husband jumps in for the subjects he feels comfortable with. I thought you may want to know a little more information about me personally.

  I attended public school. Two different school districts and I hated it. It wasn't that I was in a class of 5000, or even 500, I just didn't like the "sit here, learn this"... To be honest, I didn't learn much of anything in school. Or at least I don't feel like I did. I've tried to name the presidents, in order, and I'm lucky if I can get fifteen in or even named for that matter. I didn't understand Algebra II (or Algebra I) and I had a teacher who was overqualified for teaching high school kids, so he was of no help when I needed it and often threw a bigger temper tantrum about having to answer these 'stupid' questions, so I dropped the class. I took a lot of art classes my senior year, and found a niche I loved.

  I attended a local community college, got an Associates of Arts degree in graphic design, and landed a job at a local family-owned business. This business opened my eyes to many things, one of which was Common Core curriculum, of which I am not comfortable with. I feel that as a parent, I should be able to help my child understand a subject they're troubled with, and to be quite frank, I don't get Common Core. After some thought, I decided I wanted to homeschool my son, Alexander. I had plenty of time to get my thoughts and "classroom" in order with him just over the brink of two, but I couldn't help but dive right in. I started a "Home Education" board on Pinterest, joined a bunch of statewide groups on Facebook, and just immersed myself in the world of abbreviations. I even started my own county-level Facebook group.

  The hardest part about making this decision was getting my husband entirely on board. He was afraid I'd be overwhelmed and would be "leaving my child behind," but after some reassurance (and a little proof that I could do it) he's come around. My husband was the product of public school. He was classified as undereducated and thrown in what he calls “dumb classes” and therefore hated school. He didn’t make many friends, and just barely got through. He had his struggles in many subjects, but was left to the side. Together, we are determined to not let that happen to our child.

Every parent has their reasons for wanting to homeschool, and there really isn't a right reason as to why to do it. Some parents know it from the day their firstborn child is born, perhaps because that’s how they were raised, but others have some trigger that is the “straw that broke the camel’s back”… Sometimes it’s not for several years into their child’s education.

  One of my coworkers’ kids attend a private school, and I guess I was disgruntled to find out that they were attempting to teach a foreign language at the kindergarten level. It didn’t make any sense to me, these kids are just learning their native language and you’re forcing extra letters and pronunciations down their throat?  That was the “straw” for me. I decided I wanted my child to know his native language and be able to speak it to everyone who spoke this language, specifically the deaf community. In our family, we have a deaf cousin and my brother has a genetic degenerative hearing disorder that runs on the male side of my mother’s side of the family… Long story, short, my son could very well end up with this hearing disorder as he grows, so I am teaching him American Sign Language now. Even if this problem doesn’t affect him, he will at least be able to still hold a conversation with every person in his family – regardless of their hearing ability.

The biggest, and most outdated, argument is socialization. Any homeschooling parent will tell you a list about a mile long of extracurricular activities they have on a daily basis: dance, gymnastics, sports, band classes, singing lessons, co-ops, swimming lessons, and so much more. I have to admit that to start I was concerned, but I know my child, and believe me, he has no issue making friends… and he’ll tell you!

He recently started Sunday School at a local church, he is the youngest kid in his class. But he’s done amazing in class. He gets exposure to a church community, but is also learning an area of curriculum that I, by no means, am an expert at. He is learning things every day, so I wanted to share some successes and tribulations that we’re facing in our day-to-day lives.

Good luck in your journey—
Alexander’s Mom
(Krystal Krogman)