First Year Homeschooling Mom's Anxiety

Shawn is the mom of a 13-year-old who just completed her first year of homeschooling in Fort Collins, Colorado USA. I loved what she wrote and asked if I could share it here. She replied yes and added, "if there is a parent that needs to talk and bounce frustration off someone, I would be happy to talk or at least listen. I'm pretty open to anything...it's all a learning curve, so the more support we get, the better we do."

Here is her letter of May 29, 2012

Fear and anxiety are the words that describe me on the first day of homeschooling as a mother teaching her child. I will admit, I wanted everything to be perfect and in order. As the year started, it was perfect and orderly, and then we hit some technical difficulties. And what I thought was in order turned unmanageable.  Then “school” became other than mundane, I became frustrated and questioned myself about the choice I made regarding my daughter's education. We started to have” conferences”, sometimes once a week; we became a real team with communication, and less pressure to please on either side. Talking about each other’s expectations was the key for us. Ten months later I stand tall beside my daughter and place her on a platform that I thought would never be reached.  Not only for her but for myself.  I have absolutely been in awe over the challenges she has overcome and the commitment and the motivation she has displayed.  With that I believe in my daughter unlike ever before and her drive to become anything she desires has truly inspired me.  Throughout the year I learned as much, if not more than she did.  Words come to mind to sum up the year like motivated, trustworthy, independent, strong, inspiring, confident, prideful, successful. And more importantly, the bond we have built by our communication can never be torn down. The challenges we faced through the year led us to a learning process that has come full circle. As a mother, I have seen my daughter become strong in herself with pride and confidence. And it’s refreshing to see her not in the stereotype of other kids her age group. She has an opinion and can speak with confidence and pride.