sharing extra about how lengthy we intend to homeschool, and why the heck we’re doing it with just a bit over a month left of the varsity yr.
Hello buddies!
I hope that you simply’re having an incredible week and I’m so pumped that so lots of you have got signed up for our Spring Ahead wellness problem. Be certain to enroll right here – it’s completely free and it’s going to be a ton of enjoyable. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a blast of motivation as we head into spring, that is the proper strategy to do it!
For as we speak’s put up, I needed to share a bit bit extra about our homeschool journey and what’s happening. I’ve alluded to the truth that we’ve had a tough time the previous few months and it’s been tough to navigate how and what to share. I’ve at all times been open with you guys on the subject of my life, however the aim of the weblog has at all times been to share MY expertise; not my youngsters’s. It’s a tough line to stroll, particularly once they’re an enormous a part of my life and I really feel like so lots of you’re part of our household. On the identical, I by no means need them to really feel like their privateness has been invaded by what I share right here, so I’ve at all times tried to take a fragile method to my content material, particularly as they’ve gotten older.
The nutshell model is that this: we ended up transferring Liv to a different non-public college in January. We have been all combating the mind-boggling quantity of homework, exams, and assignments. It was particularly exhausting along with her competitors dance schedule. We switched studios and reduce her hours in half, and he or she was nonetheless up till no less than midnight each night time (for the previous 2+ years) making an attempt to complete every little thing for college. I’m an enormous believer in exhausting work and I believe educational rigor has its place, but it surely was an excessive amount of for everybody. So, she switched and has been thriving.
When she switched colleges, it was the primary time P hasn’t had her huge sis at college, which was difficult for her. The Pilot additionally retired, which was an enormous transition, and he or she began to have extra frequent stomachaches. (Her abdomen has bothered her on and off for years, which has at all times anxious me since she had extreme reflux as a child and was on Prilosec and Zantac, which has been recalled for terrifying causes.) She noticed a number of docs, had an ultrasound, her abdomen was deemed “wholesome,” and their solely suggestion was to place her on a PPI once more. She was additionally doing CBT weekly, and generally twice per week. Her abdomen ache and anxiousness acquired so unhealthy that she missed many days of faculty, and we have been right here making an attempt to maintain up with the insane quantity of homework, classwork, and exams.
The Pilot was house for retirement and was educating her the content material, ensuring she accomplished the large packets of classwork, and taking her to high school for exams. He had return to business airline coaching and I couldn’t fathom solo parenting, working, and making an attempt to maintain up with the entire college work she was lacking, so I requested her to both select to return to high school or we may pull her out, and he or she stated, “Please homeschool me.”
I by no means supposed to be a instructor, however I’ll do something for our infants and if it’s what P wants proper now, I’m going to do it.
(We love Nicole the Math Girl! An incredible rec from Brittany.)
Additionally price mentioning right here that I made a decision to do a Meals Sentivity Check (and another practical labs) and acquired to the basis explanation for some intestine points, and her gluten sensitivity was extreme. No surprise her abdomen was hurting :/ Since she began the protocols and eliminated gluten, her abdomen ache has tremendously decreased.
Our plan now:
– She’s on the waitlist for Liv’s new college however realistically gained’t have the ability to get in till fifth grade
– We’ll homeschool till then and if she decides to return, that’s nice, and if she doesn’t wish to, that’s okay, too.
The humorous factor is that I was actually cautious of homeschooling. Pre-kids thought to myself, “How on earth can a dad or mum count on to show their youngsters extra successfully than a instructor?”
Throughout the women’ time at school, we’ve had some extraordinary lecturers who’re every little thing lecturers needs to be. They love youngsters, love what they’re educating, they’re above and past. However on the identical time, some lecturers are…not good. They are saying weird issues in school, disgrace youngsters in entrance of their friends, and this occurs in a non-public college setting ALL the time, when you’re paying to your child to be taught by instructors who don’t appear to love youngsters in any respect. A overwhelming majority of the time, we spent the three to 4 hour block every night time educating anyway, as a result of they weren’t taught the content material throughout their courses.
Rising up, I additionally thought that homeschooled youngsters have been most likely awkward as a result of they don’t have as a lot social interplay. The truth is that the entire homeschooled youngsters I’ve met are variety, articulate, pleasant, and extremely good.
Despite the fact that I’ve seen buddies homeschool and form of daydreamed about how how enjoyable it could be, I didn’t think about it a risk as a result of I make money working from home, juggling shopper calls, content material creation, podcast interviews, Zooms, IHP work, and so forth. I didn’t really feel like I may add one other issues to my plate, however I didn’t even assume twice about it once we acquired thus far. I’ve shuffled my schedule round loads so that the majority of my content material creation is completed over the weekend, and the sweetness about homeschool is that it solely takes round two hours every day at this age.
This put up is already tremendous lengthy, so I’ll share one other put up quickly with the curriculum we’re utilizing and the way we construction our days.
Thanks to your kindness and being so wonderful over the previous few months. It’s been a tough yr in some ways (this is only one of them) and being right here with you all every day is a serious brilliant spot. We completed our first full week of homeschool and I’m feeling fairly excited and hopeful about it! I’m additionally grateful that we get to spend some additional time collectively and are wanting into the entire cool homeschool actions that Tucson presents!
xoxo
Gina