O.K. So Maybe I'm Not An Unschooler

I first began homeschooling five years ago. Before becoming a mom I had been an elementary school teacher .  So when we began our homeschooling journey, I had already wrestled with a lot of questions involving my teaching philosophy.  Are you chuckling yet?  Do you know where this is going?  I didn't know anything (I did/do know lots about teaching methodologies/philosophies etc.), BUT I didn't know the important things.

  I spent our first year recreating school at home.  We had fun and we learned a lot.  But...I had a vague unrest- nothing I could put into words, but we weren't where I wanted us or thought we should be (I don't mean academically.)  At the end of the year my son had tested three grade levels ahead.  Yes, I was proud of him/us but... My goal was to create lifelong learners.  I wanted my kids to love reading, writing, and learning.  They loved to read and write, but did they love to learn?  Were they just working to make me happy ?

 I have always loved to read and write, but formal schooling killed my curiosity and love of learning.  It took me a long time to get it back.  Guess who helped?  My kids, of course.

 The next year I relaxed a little, and when the twins were kindergarten age, I had to relax even more.  They wanted to play instead of "school", so big brother wanted to play.  We read, and played, and read and played.  We didn't use any formal curriculum.  They were learning,... I was an unschooler.  I knew they were learning, but I didn't feel any better than the first year when we sat at a table to do schoolwork.  They were happy, but I wanted unbridled joy and enthusiasm ( I have always been a bit of an over-achiever.)

Last week I saw it.  I saw the unbridled joy, enthusiasm, and love of learning in all of my kids.  Does that mean I've figured out my label? Nope! Does it matter? Nope! What matters is that their love of learning is still there, and I saw it.  The trick is to create more opportunities for it to shine through.

 When someone asks me about homeschooling, I always grapple with my answers.  I don't use curriculum, I like some structure, I like parts of unschooling, throw some Charlotte Mason in there...  So what am I? I think we as homeschoolers try to categorize ourselves so that we can define ourselves, and others can get a quick snapshot of who we are as homeschoolers. I am eclectic, but not sure I want the label.  I don't know what I am.  But I do know that it doesn't matter what your label is, what matters is keeping their love of learning alive.