About
I’m Amanda, mother to Fuss (2003) and Bug (2006).
I started on my path to homeschooling when I had my first foray into the public school system. It was in teacher’s college, my internship. It was a nice time, but it just didn’t feel right to me for when I had my own children.
Then, I got my first job. I almost didn’t take it when it was offered because I was working at a college as an advisor in the counselling department. Of course, it was working with adults, helping them decide which course of study to take, etc. But, I figured that I went to school to become a school teacher so I should probably give it a shot.
Mid-August arrived and the first day of school was upon us! I walked in to a kindergarten class and looked around. I knew then, on my first day of school, that I would never, ever send my children to school.
I worked at that particular school for three years and loved every minute of it. I was unmarried, I didn’t have children, the school was right around the corner from my house, and it provided me plenty of time for a very healthy social life! My working hours were short and my playing hours were long. It was ideal for that time of my life.
Circumstances in my family changed dramatically, suddenly and shockingly in the spring of 1999 and I decided to leave Florida and move back to Canada where I was born. It was a perfect move for me. I continued to date someone (in Canada) I had met several years before and whom I would eventually marry. Upon moving I was offered a job as principal of a small private school. I enjoyed my interaction with the children, but I didn’t like the smoke and mirrors that the owners operated behind. I used the excuse of my honeymoon overlapping the start of the next school year to make a graceful exit at the end of the school year.
I missed the children, but then I had my own starting in 03 and my homeschooling journey began. I knew my children would stay home with me, but I didn’t have any clue what direction we would take, and it was not important. All I needed at that time was the intention. I found many like minded families through attachment parenting (which I think naturally leads into a healthy homeschool environment) with whom I maintain very strong bonds with to this day and will continue to explore homeschooling with.
When Elliot was perhaps a year old, I attended a day long workshop on natural parenting presented by a well known naturopath named Lisa Doran. The one thing I took away from this phenomenal day was Dr. Doran’s love of Waldorf. I slowly started looking into this educational philosophy and it really spoke to me.
I felt that I could read all I wanted to about Waldorf rhythms and education, but I would never be able to move it from theory to practice on my own. So, I signed Fuss up for the parent and tot class at the Toronto Waldorf School. It was a lovely, peaceful five months spent with him mostly in front of the nature table while I sat with tiny Bug and did handcrafts. It was bliss. I knew I would not send my children to the school for a number of reasons, but it was enough exposure for me to implement waldof into our homeschool. To this day (18months later), Fuss still asks about the class and remembers everything about it, particularly helping to bake (and eat) muffins.
So, that’s the long story of how I developed a waldof-inspired homeschool for my children. Now, you can follow the rest of the journey (oh so much is unknown, it’s so exciting) through my blog. Enjoy!
