Officially Homeschooling- Things Just Got Real.

Guess what I just did? I just wrote a letter to the Superintendent notifying him of our intent to homeschool next year. The letter has been signed, printed, sealed in an envelope, stamped, and it will be mailed today. I’m officially homeschooling.

Yup, things just got real.

What prompted the whole-actually-making-it-official-today-thing? I met a mentor!! A neighbor, actually. Someone in my neighborhood who really does this homeschooling thing and who is completely down-to-earth and kind and funny. And I had the pleasure of meeting her equally kind and down-to-earth high school aged son. It was clear to me that not only is she homeschooling, but she’s homeschooling well… he was so well-spoken, happy, and well-mannered.

I know I’m a nerd, but is there anything better than a big pile of books that you have yet to read?

I could have talked to them forever. I actually *might* have been late to pick up Seuss and T from summer camp because I literally lost track of time. I loved hearing about their journey. The ups, the downs, what has worked, what has not. It made me feel like I can do this thing, and I am so excited to get started.

Just now, as I’m typing this post about this awesome mom and her son, they stopped by to drop off the sweetest “welcome to homeschooling” basket for Leo. This time, Leo was home from camp so he was able to meet these two wonderful neighbors. “Mum! I met a homeschooler!” he gushed after they had left. He’s so excited to get started. I’m excited to get started. We are both feeling happy and excited and blessed.

I’d say he’s just a wee bit excited, as he immediately constructed a desk out of the boxes, complete with a “PRIVATE DO NOT DISTURB UNLESS IMPORTANT” sign.

I CAN DO THIS.

I am officially homeschooling. I can do this homeschooling thing. Down the road, when I have a couple years of homeschooling under my belt, I will find a newbie homeschooling mom who is flying by the seat of her pants and I will pay it forward. I’ll tell her my stories and give her some tips and overwhelm her with good books. Just as this wonderful mom and her son did for us today.

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“n the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it’s wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices.

~Elizabeth Gilbert

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Caitlin Fitzpatrick Curley

Cait is a school psychologist, mom to three amazing children, and an unexpected homeschooler. She loves nature, good books, board games, strong coffee, and dancing in her kitchen. You can read about all of these things and more at My Little Poppies.

Cait co-hosts The Homeschool Sisters Podcast and is co-founder of Raising Poppies, a community for parents of gifted and twice-exceptional children. Cait is also founder of the Family Book Club at My Little Poppies, a fantastic community of book-loving parents and the Gameschool Community at My Little Poppies, a vibrant community of gameschoolers.

Cait is a contributing writer for Simple Homeschool and GeekMom. Her work has also appeared on The Huffington Post, The Mighty, and Scary Mommy. You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram
and G+.

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