Parenting Through the Unexpected: Type 1 Diabetes, Homeschooling, and Finding Our Way
Our journey to homeschooling did not come in the typical way. I hadn’t researched for years like some parents do; I hadn’t dreamed about unhurried nature walks, teaching my children how to read, and learning fractions while baking our favorite cookies. We came to homeschooling by way of fear and uncertainty that only comes with an unexpected medical diagnosis. The irony is that I, myself, had been homeschooled from middle school through high school. I had loved it as a teenager and was proud to have it as part of my history and heritage. However, when my husband and I started having children, the conversation about educational choices never came up, and it never occurred to me that we would choose it as an option. Which is why, when my two younger children started begging me to be homeschooled in the fall of 2024, I literally found myself laughing out loud and saying things like “Nope… nope on a rope. Not unless there is a significant medical issue….” My children persisted; so ...