By Sarah Valek
“Are you ready to go back to school?” is an unavoidable question for kids this time of year. After all, the end of August is the time to pack the backpacks, go to bed earlier, hop back on that yellow bus and adjust to a new setting.
But not for everybody. For some families, life is “school,” though not really because “school” as a construct doesn’t exist since learning happens everywhere and all the time (as least in theory).
Meet Cleveland’s homeschooling families. I belong to one of them. My son, now 6, has never been to a traditional school. We’ve decided to educate him at home for a variety of reasons, many of which other homeschooling families cite: flexibility, the desire to create a personalized education, freedom from standardized testing and to give our children a better experience than we received in our own schooling.
Local mom Carol Branstetter says, “We’ve homeschooled for the past 3 years. We started because our then 1st grader wanted to learn more about animals and science like he had during his preschool years. We decided to give homeschool a try for a year and we really enjoyed it.”
Whereas school is “one size fits most,” homeschooling is “do whatever works best for your family.” And that’s part of why families love it. You work at your child’s level to find something that fits.
Branstetter says, “Homeschool helps my kids retain their natural curiosity about the world because they are encouraged to learn and explore subjects they find interesting.”
But what does homeschooling entail? Anything and everything, really. Homeschoolers are a diverse lot. Sure, there are many Christian and conservative homeschooling families out there but there are also plenty of non-religious families, leftists, do-it-yourselfers, and everything in between in this somewhat mysterious, underground world.
The one thing we all share is the passion for home education, even though we go about it in completely different ways. Some families follow a strict curriculum in an attempt to create “school at home,” others follow a Waldorf approach of delayed academics, some don’t follow any set approach and instead seek activities based on their kids’ interest (unschoolers), and others are “eclectic” which basically means they do a little of this or that.
“There are many ways to homeschool, from traditional eschooling, unschooling, eclectic or following a curriculum like Waldorf, Montessori and many, many more,” says homeschooling mom Audrey Kosa, who also organizes NEST Homeschool, a group organizing events for homeschooling families. “In the beginning, it seems like a daunting task to figure out which model will work well with your family. Starting our 6th year of homeschooling, I can say, I am still learning what works best! Being responsive to your child’s needs is a process that will unfold each and every year. Changing directions mid stream, or every year is really up to you and your child. What is a comfort though is that by choosing a path best suited for your child… your child will learn in a manner that is helpful and supportive, thus creating a desire for learning and fostering creativity through curiosity.”
Homeschooling is what you make it. I always knew I wanted to try homeschooling my son, but I could never wrap my mind around how it was done. How do you go about your days? How do you ensure your kids learn everything they need to know? How do you know they’re even learning?
Now that I’ve gotten Kindergarten under my belt (and the preschool years if you want to count those), I see how free-flowing it can be. Learning isn’t happening just at a desk. It’s occurring when we go on walks in the Metroparks, when we interact with people and when we have a question. Even if we don’t have all the answers we can at least make an inquiry and a hypothesis. We do follow a curriculum that is somewhat Waldorf-based with a focus on nature, and we spend a lot of time outdoors. That’s another trick with homeschooling — not staying home all the time.
And there are a lot of resources in the Cleveland area to keep families busy — it’s just a matter of finding out about them (registering early!) and fitting them into your schedule. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History offers homeschooling classes beginning at age 4. In past classes kids took water samples from the Doan Brook in Shaker Lakes, learned about incubation periods for different mammals, and discovered local history in Lake View Cemetery.
The Cleveland Metroparks, the Zoo, Greater Cleveland Aquarium and the Cleveland Museum of Art also offer classes geared specifically to homeschoolers. Besides classes, there are co-ops, groups, library events, theater programs and informal meet-ups. Plenty of opportunities of socialization abound and, if you spend time around homeschooled kids, you’ll discover most aren’t lacking in socialization. Trust me.
The opportunities for homeschool families in Cleveland continue to grow, though we still have gaps to fill. Local mom De Smith longs for a homeschool facility: “Ideally, we’d build our own facility with clusters of small rooms together for co-ops, larger meeting rooms, a library including curriculum sets, at least one gym, an auditorium, a stage — maybe combined, a pool, a large ‘food service’ kitchen and banquet area, large hang out areas for games, chatting, study, teen meetings, etc.”
A space where we could share resources would definitely make things easier and give a boost of camaraderie, something that’s always welcome. Because there are those days… when things look bleak and the house is a mess where we question what we’ve done (I’m sure all homeschooling parents have been there). Yet somehow it’s still worth it. One year at a time.
“Overall people have a very positive reaction when they find out we homeschool. I certainly feel privileged to have the opportunity,” says Branstetter.
And it is a privilege. It may not work for all families all the time. But it works for some families some of the time — and then some. Homeschooling isn’t set in stone. It’s fluid and free and whatever you want it to be. That’s the beauty of it.
In Ohio if you want to homeschool you must fill out a letter of consent and send it to your local superintendent. During the year (beyond Kindergarten), your child must either take standardized tests or have a portfolio or work examined by a licensed teacher. http://education.ohio.gov
Cool Cleveland editor Sarah Valek studied art and writing at Ithaca College. After graduation, she came back to Cle and served two years as an AmeriCorps*VISTA with the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless. She can be found on all sides of the city in pursuit of homeschooling activities for her son and the perfect soy latte. Contact her at CoolEditor@CoolCleveland.com or via Twitter.