Unschooling myself.

I was really not EVER even contemplating being a homeschooling mom. EVER. It never even crossed my mind. I had not given it a second thought much less a first one. Homeschool my littles? No. Home-schooled children are weird and unsocial and their moms wear long plaid dresses and white Keds.......right??? (no offense meant if that's your choice of style) I am not the "kind" to homeschool. Nope. Not me.
Flash forward to meeting a great new friend and her presenting me with the idea of it. Uh huh. I tuned her out. I wanted no part of this keeping my children at home and "playing school" for real business. Nope. Not happening. I'm not "that" mom. I was looking forward to the days of solitude and grocery shopping in silence. Lunches that I didn't have to share and actually could find time to eat. That was the "plan".........and yes one day I will learn to quit telling God my plans and start just giving into His first. :)

3 days before Mae was to go meet her Kindergarten teacher, I called my dear friend. I said "tell me what you know and what I need to know". Then I called my husband and said "I really believe God is screaming at me to homeschool and I honestly believe I have been ignoring Him on this. He said "you better listen up then but it's up to you". But really I think it was up to God. He put all the right people in my life to direct me to this, laid all the right convictions on my heart at exact moments and in true Pamela fashion........at the FINAL moment I said YES to homeschooling.
But what is homeschooling? My darling daughter and I collide daily, we are too much alike and both strong personalities and how in the world can we sit at a table for hours a day together?? Uh huh. Yeah right. So the beauty of homeschool is that it's NOT school and that's why you do it AT HOME! If homeschool is going to look like public school or private school, then obviously you're missing the point, purpose and fabulousness of it!!!
So I've been UNschooling myself this last 9 months and I realize weekly that I am still not completely UNdone from what I have been taught school to "look like" and what homeschool really can (and should) look like-------and it's a far cry from what children in brick and mortar schools experience. Isn't that why we keep them at home??? To give them a different experience? To teach them in a different way? To expand their horizons and build their character and to let them be little longer????????
After some sweet time today with my sweet friend who sweetly brought me into my homeschooling momma days.........I learned I still have some unschooling left to do. Absolutely. And it's fine because I'm doing what's best for my littles and we are all having a great time while mommy forgets everything she ever knew and is learning a whole new world of what school and learning can be!