Q & A with Homeschool Mom: Camille
I was first introduced to Camille through her Instagram feed. She shares snippets of her life as a wife and homeschooling mother of 3. Earlier this year, she was featured in the NPR piece, " In African-American Communities, Growing Interest in Homeschooling". Camille shares snippets of her family's homeschooling journey regularly on her site, Homeschooling in the "D". You can also check out her weekly vlog on YouTube.com.
Meet Homeschool Mom, Camille
How long have you home educated?
This is our fourth year.
How did your family decide to become a homeschooling family?
We wanted a more personalized, passion-filled educational journey for our children that only homeschooling could provide. We also wanted them to be surrounded by a village of people who supported and nurtured them in a way only homeschooling could provide. Lastly, we wanted to be their biggest influences in their everyday lives, and homeschooling could only provide that. For all of these reasons, we knew that homeschooling was the best option of our family.
What is your favorite part about home schooling? What helps you to keep going?
My favorite part about homeschooling is being with my children as they discover new things and have new and different experiences. I also love (sometimes it's a love-hate thing :-P) that it fosters such a close-knit family culture. What keeps me going is that every once in a while I see the light bulb come on in one of my child's eyes when we're doing something. I know I wouldn't get to see that so often if they were in school. Additionally, the flexibility of the homeschooling lifestyle is awesome. We're on our own time, which is pure freedom.
What are your struggles with being a home schooling parent?
One thing that challenges me as a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom, in particular, is keeping my joy at the forefront. I tend to worry and try to control things that I really shouldn't, and this leads to not being the best example for my children. I also find it tough to find a balance between being the teacher and letting the children either lead or teach themselves. I think I'm an unschooler at heart, but my Type-A personality won't let me do that completely, so I find it tough to release control to my children. I try to involve them in decision-making as much as possible, though. I'm getting better as they get older, and that's all I can ask of myself.
Camille's Homeschool Encouragement for You:
Don't worry. Be happy. Seriously. Anxiety is something that can wreck havoc on your home, especially in your homeschool, and we can't let fear (of whatever!) win. Each of us is completely capable of helping our children become well-rounded, educated adults, whether we homeschool them or not. However, we must set the tone for our household, and it starts with letting go and finding joy in our everyday. Our children pick up on that more than anything.
