The year 2002. That was the year that changed our lives forever.
Believe it or not, as a six year old little girl with a wild imagination and no capacity to sit still, I didn’t do very well in Grade 1. I came home with a big red C- written on my papers, loads of unfinished work, and ants in my pants everyday after school. My mom often tells stories of us screaming at each other trying to get my school work done after dinner, Mom trying her hardest to be a good mother and get her child to learn, and a younger me done with the day and ready to go play.
The straw that broke the camel’s back was when my teacher decided to keep me in class during the last recess of the day, so that I could get more work done with less distractions while the rest of the class had a great time outside. That’s when my mom decided to try pulling me out and doing it herself. She had met a homeschool family, and it felt like the only other option. What did she have to lose? We both thank the Lord every day for his guidance in that way. Our lives forever changed for the better!
Mom and I see things differently when we look back on those early days. I see nothing but good! I had finally been set free from my prison cell called a desk; I got to be home every day with the two people I loved most in the world, my mom and my brother; learning became fun and we spent hours at the local library, had friends over during the day, coloured in our math books; and I never once got a big red C- on my work. If something was wrong, my mom showed me, and helped me fix it. That was more important to my younger self than I think anyone could have guessed at the time.
I don’t think it was all sunshine and roses for my mom though. I only now realize how much self doubt, anxiety, lying awake at night, and worry my Mom must have gone through. Wondering if she made the right choice. Wondering how she could possibly teach her kids. Wondering if she was going to wreck us.
My mom would be the first to tell you it was God who taught her kids. Growing up, she was the kind of girl who went through school not paying attention to what was being taught, and worried about fitting in. She didn’t go to college, and her resume consisted of working various minimum wage jobs, trying her hand at owning a flower shop for a little while, and being a homemaker. She wasn’t a teacher, so how could she possibly teach her kids? I’m sure there were days when she thought about sending us off to school because she didn’t think she could do it.
But I thank the Lord regularly for helping my mom through those early years. We learned as we went, and the Lord brought along other amazing families to help show us what homeschooling actually looked like in real life. We not only made it through, but we soon started to flourish, found our groove, and did better than we could have ever expected!
Now, 14 years later, I am 20 years old, and I can’t tell you how blessed I am that my mom taught me at home.
She didn’t wreck me! I am now a Librarian-in-Training, working while doing online courses in my field. I am three steps ahead of every other young person my age that I know, who are all in college and still figuring out who they are as a person (and figuring out how much detergent to put in the washing machine.)
She taught me better at home! She taught me how to learn, and taught me things only a mother could teach me. She raised me into the young person I am today; a confident, independent, headstrong young lady who is ready to face life, knowing that my Lord and my Mom are right behind me to help along the way!
She made the right choice.
My mom is more than my best friend; she is my mother, who knows me better than I know myself most days. She gives me hard lectures when I need them, and big hugs every day. She invested her life into me, and I could never thank her enough for it. She has helped me through illness, helped me through my first breakup, helped me through troubles, and has been by my side through the thickest and thinnest.
I thank the Lord for homeschooling, and I thank Him everyday for my mom.
I’d give her an A+++ if I could.
My name is Catherine, I am 20 years old, and I am a homeschool graduate. My favourite things have always been animals, reading, and writing. I live in Muskoka, Ontario, and I am currently a Librarian-in-training, an amateur writer, and child of God.
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What a great testimony to the power of a mother’s love and the leading of the Lord. It has been great to see you traveling this path ahead of my kids, giving me confidence that I, too, will not wreck my kids 😉 You and your mom are both truly lovely ladies <3
I am so proud of you Cat!!! You have flourished into a beautiful woman of God and you are a testimony of Him and your Mom. You definitely and your family are one of my most precious and favourite people. Praise God for all the ways He has saved you, and loved u. Can’t wait till I can see u again!
Thank you for this story. I am homeschooling my 8, 5, and 2 yr old and every year when we hand in our homeschool letter of intent, the school tries to convince us to come back to school because homeschooling is hard and will only get harder for me. It makes me feel like I’m being a bad mother for for keeping them home and not having enough time for each of us. Yes, some days I think about it when my mountain of chores are piling up, or the kids have been inside for days, or I am just wrecking their lives by keeping them out of school unlike most kids who get to see their friends and teachers all day, everyday. My kids love being home with mom and their siblings but I see how their eyes light up when they see the inside of school. All the new wonderful things. This year was supposed to be more outings and field trips but because of the pandemic, I’m not sure how long before we can do that. Maybe this year, we’ll look for a homeschool group like this so we can all have a little more support and guidance as to how others homeschool. I pray that my children will feel the same way as you when they grow up. Once again, thank you for motivating this nervous mom and all the best to you and your family. You are a great young lady and with a very courageous mom.