The wild world of homeschooling

Im going to preface this with - Im no expect, I haven't done this for more then a hot minute... but I will say that while I can be spontaneous in many ways - it usually comes with a good 4-12mns of research behind it.  Im more of a person who gets an idea in their mind and BAM! It's happening.  So yah, while I might not be walking the walk in full capacity just yet I feel pretty good sharing what I have found  and why I'm interested in it. 

Homeschooling seems to come in all shapes and sizes, where you live often determines if you have to follow any sort of "rules" and so on.  In New Jersey, where we live - it is surprisingly very relaxed... you just need to write your school with a certified letter that you are withdrawing your kids and BAM! you're on your own... with that though means you get ZERO help from your state or town.  That's cool though.. Im good with that.   Other states have different rules and regulations so before you take this plunge, make sure you know what you're doing :) 

Before I did this - I joined a few facebook groups for my state, and also the part of the state Im in (northern nj),  along with joining groups that fit the "Style" homeschooler I felt I aligned with the most. There are a BUNCH of "styles" of homeschoolers out there.. Across my findings I stumbled across this blog and took the quiz they have - which helped to lead me along my path on understanding what is out there and having a better understanding as to the kind of schooler I would like to be.  
http://eclectic-homeschool.com/homeschool-philosophies-quiz/  

So yah, after taking this quiz I went out and googled the S**T out of these findings -- leading me to learn that I am a "relaxed" charlotte mason- literature based, montessori, unit studies inspired homeschooler 😂. God help me! 

But really and truly it did get me thinking - how do my kids learn and how do I plan to teach them... would and should I rely on workbooks and what did/does that look like... do I care if they did stuff on the computer and if so, how much of it would be online, do I want to join co-ops, or find places where my kids can take in person classes, and more. 

I will note that before these past few weeks I had planned wholeheartedly to have a relaxed, modified "unschooling" approach -  one filled with play based, adventures, meeting new people and making new friends, very little "workbook work"  almost like a year of deschooling (a term often used when you take time to "forget" about your public school time) However I realized that while I will 100% incorporate free play and adventures, and travel - lots of travel!  I do see the value of this year really figuring out how my children learn and focusing on being tight knit and together.  We as a family will spend time with each other, we will of course do things and get out there  and adventure, it's in my soul to do that but mainly to do a lot of connecting with ourselves... we will spend time with our existing friends and keep those relationships thriving, they will most likely have speech and tutoring, and my girls have expressed the desire to do certain activities and those will take time and dedication.   

While Im a big mover and shaker- this forced at home experience is reminding me that it is ok to take time to adjust in our own way... that we will have many years and months to make new friends and try new things.
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