Homeschool Moms in the Wild: Maria Pilgrim

Write a short introduction about yourself: 

“I am Maria, mother of four feral children. Zayne is our oldest. He is the one who was so good as a baby that we thought we were really nailing this whole parenting thing and should have more children. Rayden, our second-born. The one who made us realize it wasn’t us at all. He is our athletic child. Jayce is our third and started kindergarten this year. Stella is our only daughter. She is everything pink and glittery, and you would never guess she had three older brothers at home. I am married to my high school sweetheart, Tyler. We have been together almost 20 years. I work from home. My husband also works from home. He also runs his own separate business. I help him with a lot of his social media and marketing, which has always been something I’ve enjoyed doing. We love to travel. We try to go somewhere new at least once a year. My husband travels a lot with his job, and we try to tag along when we can. In all of my spare time I have after raising four kids and running a business, while we both work other jobs, and shuffling kids between all of their events, we also homeschool.”

When did you begin homeschooling?

“This question was almost painful to answer because it feels like just a few years ago, but it’s been over 12 years now.”

How did you begin homeschooling? 

“We started when my oldest son was in Preschool. We knew we didn’t want to go with public school, but at the time, we were young and couldn’t afford private school, so I thought, “I’ll just homeschool him through kindergarten, then we will put him in school.” Then it was “just until middle school, then we will be done”, and now I am here, about to graduate our first senior. Plus homeschooling our other 3 children. It’s amazing how well I have gaslighted myself into homeschooling.”

What type of homeschooler are you?  

“A self-proclaimed mess is what I am. I’ve made it up as we’ve gone along. I began with Georgia Cyber Academy when Zayne was in kindergarten because I was terrified to homeschool on my own. It seemed so hard and exhausting (which at times it has been both). Then, around the time Rayden had started, their schedule became less flexible and a little too structured, I pulled them both out and told myself I would just finish the school year with the books I had from them and find something new over the summer (again with the gaslighting). After 4 months of “doing it on my own,” I thought “that wasn’t as hard as I thought”. So I started doing research and spent the summer buying more books than anyone would ever realistically use. EVER. Ever since then, I have used a hodgepodge of curriculum.”

What is your favorite thing about homeschooling? 

“My favorite thing about homeschooling is that it has allowed me to spend so much time with my children. They aren’t away at school most of the days and then loaded with homework every night. We have gotten to really be there for everything. Every moment. That has made all the long days and all the tears (mostly from me) worth it.” 

What are/were your homeschool wins?

“Being able to let my children really follow their passion. When Zayne was into cooking, we signed him up for cooking classes and let him explore the culinary world. He’s moved on to other interests, but he still makes most of the desserts for our family holidays. When he got into programming, he was able to join clubs and travel for competitions and spend time getting hands-on experience that a lot of other children don’t have the opportunity to pursue until they are done with school. I love that my kids have had the space and freedom to pursue their passions. I love that they get to explore topics that excite them. Seeing them thrive is the biggest win for me.”

What would you do differently?

“I don’t know that I would have done too many things differently. I think each stage kind of helped to set us up for the next path. I guess if I had to pick anything, I would say I wish I started prepping for college earlier. That’s a big one, actually. I wish I had started portfolios and gathering coursework as soon as Zayne started high school. Lesson learned for sure.”

Who inspires you to continue homeschooling? 

“With Zayne graduating this year and Jayce starting Kindergarten, I really had to take a step back and ask myself what I was doing. I mean, it really put it into perspective just how many more years I have of this life ahead of me. Am I crazy? Could I really do this all over again? Am I having a panic attack? As overwhelming as it feels at times, I know my children are only this young once, and it really does pass too quickly, and I will continue to homeschool for the foreseeable future because I love these feral children of mine, and I want them to continue to have every opportunity they can. They inspire me to keep going every single day. Them as well as every single homeschool mom I have met who is also balancing a job and a family and a home and just life. Because I really would have never made it this far in my homeschool journey without my homeschool moms, I’ve met and stolen ideas from along the way. I couldn’t have done it without my mom tribe.”

-Interview by Shelby Gwinn, cover photo courtesy of Maria Pilgrim