Early in my Early Childhood Career, I found myself drawn to philosophies that promoted community, play, and Social-Emotional Intelligence over all else. My undergraduate student teaching was with a teacher who was greatly inspired by Reggio Emilia Education. During my graduate studies, I studied Waldorf Education philosophy extensively. I found these philosophies to be the real-world examples of what I felt was missing from many Early Childhood programs. A balance of Autonomy-Community, Democratic Policies that allowed Children to have some choice in their days, and a strong base for social-emotional work at a young age. To even further my belief in these philosophies, my Student teaching experience during my Master's Degree, left me angry and sad for the state of education in the United States (even with a phenomenal Lead Teacher.)
Fast forward to 2015, our almost 3-year-old, Griffin, was reaching an age where preschool was at the front of our thoughts and we began researching the best educational experience for our family. We fairly quickly landed on the Chicago Waldorf School by our home. We were thrilled and the experience for those two years was everything that our child needed, including massive amounts of outdoor nature play (which I find a great deal of value but not a whole lot of desire to participate in). We knew that we had to really consider our next steps for Kindergarten and beyond. By time Griff was five, we had welcomed his sister, Adair, and we were considering what our goals were with now two kids. As much as we adored Waldorf, two kids in private school was not an option for us.
The simple thought of sending Griffin to public school gave me anxiety beyond belief. While I have no doubt that there are wonderful teachers and schools, I could not guarantee that Griffin would have the kind of education that I wished for him. There is not much that you can guarantee in life, so the things I can control to give my kids the best outcome, I aim to find a way. As we were debating the decision to homeschool or send him to school, we also had a spark of inspiration to purchase a van, convert it, live in it full time to travel North America. (read more about this decision on our family blog- www.usalongtheway.com). So, Decision made! We were a homeschool family! But what did that mean? How did it look?
Up until this point, Griffin had learned so much from child-led inquiry and interactions through play and nature. For his kindergarten year, we felt no need to change that. The more we let our children follow their interests and live alongside us, the deeper we became rooted in our belief that the world could be an excellent teacher. Living Van Life made it even more accessible. It is against the grain of what society says is best and we are still learning to embrace that. We see evidence every day in letting our kids lead their own knowledge will never lead us astray. As long as we see them and provide the resources, time, and communities to build upon their goals, they will always stay curious and seek to learn. Curious. Kids. Learn.
As the 2020 Pandemic has hit us, I now see the space and opportunity for these discussions to become mainstream. Self-directed Education means each individual can be seen and in control of their lives. I am passionate about empowering any family seeking this lifestyle to gain access to information, support, and resources available to them.