This is one of my favorite times of year.  It’s the time when parents throughout the state make the decision that they’re going to homeschool their kids next year and they start looking for information about the homeschooling support groups in our state and many of them find Summit View.

I love meeting new homeschoolers.  They are so excited about homeschooling and they are so full of hope about what it will mean for their family.  For those of us who’ve been doing this a while (this will be my 11th year), it can become a little “same old, same old.”  The thrill of each new adventure starts to wear off a bit and I can even begin to start complaining about homeschooling a little bit.

So, being around parents who are embarking on a new adventure and who are excited about each new math manipulative, each new workbook, each new field trip they intend to plan is the equivalent, to me at least, of finding an extra $20 in my purse — of being asked out on a date by my husband — or of having a good hair day.  Those things always make me feel really great.  They always give me a boost.  It’s the same with meeting new homeschool parents.

Being around them makes me feel so grateful for being able to homeschool.  They remind me of all the reasons I started homeschooling too.  Their enthusiasm is contagious and all of us homeschooling veterans need to spend some time around homeschooling newbies.  We need them as much as they need us.  They need us for our experience, we need them for their enthusiasm.