Homeschool Fiction

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DoLifeRight: Tell me a bit about yourself and your family (name, children’s ages, where you live, etc.).

Candy: I’m a 28 yr old sahm. I’m married and have 2 sons, 5 & 6. We live west of Metro Atlanta, GA. We have two dogs and a fish. We’re nature lovers and spend our vacations camping in the Appalachian Mountains. We grow a pretty big backyard veggie garden.

DoLifeRight: How long have you homeschooled your children?

Candy: Closing in on one year, if you don’t count before school age.

DoLifeRight: Do you consider your family an unschooling family?

Candy: Yes.

DoLifeRight: What does this mean for your family?

Candy: It means that we follow our interests and don’t ignore our instincts. We don’t push subject matter, we allow it to unfold on its own. We rely on the interconnectedness of life to learn the basics and our natural talents and strengths lead the way.

DoLifeRight: Did you plan to homeschool your children before you actually had children?

Candy: It has always been under consideration; although, we lived in a good school district, so we gave it a try.

DoLifeRight: What is your own educational background?

Candy: I am a high school dropout with a GED.

DoLifeRight: Why did you decide to not send your children to school?

Candy: My oldest son attended Kindergarten. The system was hellbent on figuring out “why he thinks differently than other people,” and I got tired of it. The system treated my concerns and knowledge of my own son like it meant nothing at all.

DoLifeRight: What research did you do to make this decision?

Candy: I followed my instincts.

DoLifeRight: Were there any books, magazines, or websites you would recommend new parents (or parents who are new to homeschooling) to read?

Candy: I would say that they should just search the internet and find the right thing for themselves and their children. They will know it when they see it.

DoLifeRight: What specific benefits to your children (or family as a whole) have you actually seen since you became unschoolers?

Candy: Life is good. There are pros and cons to unschooling, schooling and homeschooling. Our benefits include a flexible schedule, time together, more time to enjoy what we love in life, less stress, more openness, acceptance, understanding, closer bonds, the freedom to choose our interests at any given time and concentrate as fully on them as we wish.

DoLifeRight: Do you have a regular schedule in your life?

Candy: We have a very basic routine that’s not tied to a clock.

DoLifeRight: How does this work with outside commitments and responsibilities?

Candy: We are flexible, but that doesn’t mean irresponsible. We still make it to appointments and playdates, events and things on time. However, some things are not so important that we can’t skip it if we’re not feeling up to it on a particular day.

DoLifeRight: How important have support groups been for you?

Candy: Mostly only as a springboard for ideas and thoughts and the occasional question.

DoLifeRight: Do you have online ones, in person ones, or a mixture?

Candy: Mostly only online, though we do meet with some other families in the local area. I wouldn’t exactly call them support groups.

DoLifeRight: Please list any you want to share.

Candy: I like the yahoo groups All Children Shine With Unschooling and Radical Unschooling with the Law of Attraction. (even though I’m not entirely informed about LoA.)

DoLifeRight: What resources do you use for your children’s “educations”?

Candy: Anything available in life.

DoLifeRight: Feel free to comment on the word “education”.

Candy: We don’t need no edukashun.

DoLifeRight: How did your friends and families react when you told them your children wouldn’t be going to school?

Candy: My husband’s family is in agreement, my father has his doubts.

DoLifeRight: Have their opinions changed over the years?

Candy: There hasn’t been years. But, if I know my father, his opinion will never change… even if my kid grows up to be a millionaire scientist.

DoLifeRight: How does your family make money?

Candy: My husband works.

DoLifeRight: Do you have a job?

Candy: No.

DoLifeRight: Can you tell us about your choices and how you made these decisions?

Candy: We started out this way, when the boys were very young. I wanted to spend my time with them and caring for them, not away at some job while someone else did it. It just stuck this way and we’re all happy with it.

DoLifeRight: How have *you* personally grown since you started unschooling your children?

Candy: I’m more patient, more understanding, more accepting, more involved in their thoughts and ideas, better in my communication with them as people.

DoLifeRight: How has your relationship with your spouse/partner grown?

Candy: I think we’re more open in communicating our thoughts, ideas… no matter how crazy or overboard they seem inside our minds.

DoLifeRight: Are you able to find time to have your own hobbies, interests, and friends?

Candy: Yes.

DoLifeRight: Beyond your children (of course), what are your interests?

Candy: My primary hobby is learning new things… Crochet, sewing, nutrition and cooking/baking, tin punching, painting, drawing, photography, writing, graphic arts, evolutionary science, nature, spirituality, playing music, gardening, I could go on for a long time.

DoLifeRight: How do you respond to other people’s questions about the following: completeness of education, socialization, college plans, etc.?

Candy: We’re alive, happy and enjoying ourselves.

DoLifeRight: Do you give different answers to different people?

Candy: No.

DoLifeRight: Why?

Candy: I just don’t feel like I have a need to defend or glorify myself to a force who has no power in the situation, anyway.

DoLifeRight: With more than one child, how do you handle their different interests and desires?

Candy: We work as a team, most of the time… sharing interest in the things other family members are interested in. We seem to get along pretty good that way.

We take turns. Sometimes, one child goes and does his thing while the other gets help/attention from the parents. But, we’re very close, so we tend to rub off on each other a lot.

The boys usually become interested in my interests, because I don’t push it on them…. it’s a mystery that they come to me to find out about on their own a lot of times.

DoLifeRight: What are the biggest issues you are currently having, or have ever had in regards to parenting and/or unschooling?

Candy: Focusing energy. My oldest son needs a lot of help to focus his overwhelming energy. He would never get that in a classroom full of kids, though.

DoLifeRight: Any regrets? We want to hear the good and the bad! This is the best way to make informed decisions.

Candy: I have no regrets. My son wouldn’t be himself anymore, if I hadn’t rescued him from school.

DoLifeRight: Any last thoughts or advice for DoLifeRight’s readers?

Candy: Open eyes, open ears, open arms, open mind, open heart. These are the only words of advice I have for someone considering making any decision regarding children.

Related Articles:

• 20 Unschooling Questions: Sylvia from NM, USA
• 20 Unschooling Questions: Sara from WA, USA
• 20 Unschooling Questions: Nikki from Hollis, ME, USA
• 20 Unschooling Questions: Jeanine from GA, USA
• 20 Unschooling Questions: Sandra Dodd from NM, USA

By: Lisa