THE WONDERFUL, WACKY WORLD OF "UNPRESCHOOLING"  Written by Celeste Land

So, you really want to homeschool your child, and you've done a lot of research already. You've read a few books, checked out a few national magazines. You've attended a meeting of your local support group, where you received a copy of the state homeschooling laws and heard an impassioned discussion about the pros and cons of different algebra curriculums. You are ready at last... Or are you?

After all, your child isn't quite ready for algebra yet. He doesn't even know how to count to ten, and he is still in diapers. Your state's homeschooling laws won't apply to him for another few years, and your local homeschooling support group, while friendly enough, doesn't seem to know quite what to do with him - or you. At the same time, you are hearing a lot of talk from friends and family about why your child "should" be in preschool. Your child's friends are all either already in preschool or will be there very soon. You feel confused, isolated, and lost between the cracks....

Welcome to the wonderful, wacky world of "unpreschooling", the newest frontier of homeschooling. As the number of homeschoolers increases nationwide, a growing number of families are making their decision to homeschool at increasingly younger ages - sometimes even before their first child is born. Unfortunately, relatively little organized information and support exists for these families at this time. At the same time, the pressures from society to send children aged two to five to preschool can be so intense as to make the most passionate future homeschoolers question their decision.

At first glance, "unpreschooling" would seem to be idyllic. No official paperwork is required to not send children to preschool. Parents do not have to submit curriculums, documentation, tests, or portfolios, nor must they deal with school authorities of any sort. All they have to do is sit back, relax, and let their child learn and grow. Or so it would appear.

Actually, the picture is a little more complicated. Much of this has to do with the circumstances surrounding unpreschoolers and their parents. To state the obvious, unpreschooled children are very, very young. They require a lot more regular supervision and maintenance than school-aged children. Unpreschoolers are known for very rapid growth and development. This is accompanied by upheavals and growing pains of various sorts (like "the terrible twos"). Also, unpreschoolers often come accompanied by younger brothers and sisters, who usually require even more care and supervision.

Needless to say, the parents of unpreschoolers are pretty exhausted and overwhelmed much of the time. Most of them are also rather new to parenting, and may lack the long-term perspective of veteran homeschoolers. Homeschooling children of any age requires leaps of faith, but unpreschooling may require even greater leaps. It can be hard to imagine a 2-year-old ever being able to read, write, count, share toys, stand in line, pay attention, or use the toilet without divine intervention - or formal instruction. It can be equally hard for unpreschooling parents to imagine having time to themselves ever, ever again.

To make matters worse, the preschool decision tends to come at a point in time when mothers at home often find their social network disintegrating. Long-established playgroups often disband between the children's second and third birthdays. One by one, old friends disappear as the children go to preschool and the mothers return to part-time jobs or other interests. If the playgroups continue, the talk is often of nothing but preschool: how wonderful it is, how many new things the children are learning, and how much more time the mothers have. The family who chooses not to take this route can feel isolated, confused, and adrift.

Basically, unpreschooling families need the same things as any other homeschooling family: information, support, and encouragement. The difference is in the details.