I’ve been blogging about homeschooling for years; in fact, my first post published here was in September 2008.
That’s hard to believe.
Many of you blog about homeschooling too; maybe for years, like me.
For some of you, it’s a way to share with friends and family what you actually do every day in your homeschool.
Maybe it’s a way to provide supplemental income for your family through ads and affiliate relationships.
Maybe you went beyond ads and affiliates and created a product or a service for homeschooling families and you blog about it.
Of course, there are many of you who do not blog about homeschooling at all but do enjoy reading homeschooling and education blogs.
You participate in the various giveaways.
You track down and read product reviews to determine future purchases.
You look forward to reading about the daily ins and outs of other homeschooling families.
After a while, you begin to feel close to the families you read about.
You watch their kids grow up. You know they don’t share everything – that they can’t share everything – but you still feel you know them.
And to an extent, you do.
You send your favorite bloggers encouragement emails from time to time, think about them even when you’re away from the computer, and lift their families up in prayer when you know they’re going through difficult times.
You build community with readers on specific blogs and look forward to their comments. Specific blogs begin feeling more like an online meet-up than a random place on the internet. You extend those relationships to other forms of social media like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter, to name a few.
You develop friendships.
When I first began reading blogs I was lonely.
The Army had just moved Jeff, the girls and me to Augusta, GA where we were stationed at Fort Gordon.
We knew no one.
Not too long after that, I began homeschooling my oldest child, and that made me feel even lonelier because not only were we new to the city, but we did not know any other homeschooling families.
So, I found and began following a few blogs of moms who homeschooled their children.
Reading those blogs became a special part of my day. I wouldn’t let myself read them until after Emelie completed her daily work.
It was my break between school and making dinner.
It felt like a reward.
And then, I began writing my own blog.
I’ve had a few blog names through the years. I wish I still had some of those earlier blog entries. One was lost to a server crash. Another was hacked, and while I was able to preserve the entries, I couldn’t preserve the comments.
It was hard to lose those comments.
The comments, I believe, are the lifeblood of any blog.
Comments are where you, the community, shows up.
When you leave comments it’s much like a tip or a gift for the blogger.
And yes, there are comments that fall short of constructive criticism and have to be deleted, but overall, blogging about homeschooling is the best paid gig I can ever remember having.
Through blogging, I have learned so much more than I ever imagined.
First, blogging about homeschooling has taught me I have so much to learn still; that I haven’t arrived.
That I won’t ever arrive.
It has taught me to glean from the wisdom of homeschoolers and educators who have gone before me. In other words, I follow behind and pick up scraps; I don’t always need to be in the lead.
I shouldn’t always be in the lead.
It has taught me that I’m not always right and when I’m not right, I need to gracefully receive it, accept it, admit it, and move on with kindness.
It has taught me to be bold about my convictions, not fearing the responses of others. But also, that I don’t need to take a stand on everything. That there are grey areas. In other words, I’ve learned to pick my battles.
It has taught me that I can change, that change will hurt a bit, and that many of my mistakes and changes will be documented for eternity on the web.
It has taught me that every homeschooling insecurity I’ve ever felt has been felt by another, and sharing it online makes me feel less afraid.
It has taught me that what works today won’t work tomorrow. Not that it might not work tomorrow, but that it probably won’t, and that’s okay.
There are many other things, but I’ve got to tell you the biggest thing that I’ve learned is that I’m not alone.
I know that homeschooling is much more mainstream now than it was when we began, but when we started I was so lonely.
Now, I’m not lonely.
Initially, I found an online homeschooling community to read.
Then, I began commenting regularly.
After a while, I began a blog and took on a different role in the online homeschooling community.
Over the last several years, I’ve had multiple opportunities to meet many of you at blogging and homeschooling conferences.
I’ve talked to many more of you in the comments, emails, and on a few occasions, Skype or the phone.
All of it is a blessing I never imagined when I first began reading homeschooling blogs.
So, if you blog about homeschooling, keep it up because every day someone new makes their way online to search for help and community.
They need you.
And if you read about homeschooling, take the time to comment on your favorite blogs and encourage those that take time to share their lives with you.
But above all else, be thankful for such a powerful resource right at our fingertips.
I know I am.
Heather Sanders helps moms pursue their passions and earn an income while staying home with their kids. If you want to raise your children while contributing to your family financially and following your dreams, subscribe to her blog now.