why we determined to homeschool

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 college 12 months. 

Hello pals!

I hope that you just’re having a tremendous week and I’m so pumped that so lots of you might have signed up for our Spring Ahead wellness problem. Ensure that to enroll right here – it’s completely free and it’s going to be a ton of enjoyable. For those who’re searching for a blast of motivation as we head into spring, that is the right option to do it!

For at the moment’s submit, I wished to share slightly 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 kids’s. It’s a difficult line to stroll, particularly after 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 strategy to my content material, particularly as they’ve gotten older.

The nutshell model is that this: we ended up transferring Liv to a different personal college in January. We have been all fighting the mind-boggling quantity of homework, exams, and assignments. It was particularly exhausting together with her competitors dance schedule. We switched studios and lower her hours in half, and she or he was nonetheless up till a minimum of midnight each night time (for the previous 2+ years) attempting to complete every little thing for varsity. I’m an enormous believer in exhausting work and I feel tutorial rigor has its place, nevertheless it 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 large sis in school, which was difficult for her. The Pilot additionally retired, which was an enormous transition, and she or he began to have extra frequent stomachaches. (Her abdomen has bothered her on and off for years, which has at all times frightened 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 medical doctors, 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 typically twice every week. Her abdomen ache and anxiousness received so unhealthy that she missed many days of faculty, and we have been right here attempting to maintain up with the insane quantity of homework, classwork, and exams.

The Pilot was residence for retirement and was instructing 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 attempting to maintain up with all the college work she was lacking, so I requested her to both select to return to high school or we may pull her out, and she or he mentioned, “Please homeschool me.”

I by no means meant 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! A tremendous rec from Brittany.)

Additionally price mentioning right here that I made a decision to do a Meals Sentivity Take a look at (and another useful labs) and received to the foundation explanation for some intestine points, and her gluten sensitivity was extreme. No marvel her abdomen was hurting :/ Since she began the protocols and eliminated gluten, her abdomen ache has drastically diminished.

Our plan now:

– She’s on the waitlist for Liv’s new college however realistically received’t be capable of 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 in class, we’ve had some extraordinary lecturers who’re every little thing lecturers ought to be. They love youngsters, love what they’re instructing, they’re above and past. However on the identical time, some lecturers are…not good. They are saying weird issues in school, disgrace kids in entrance of their friends, and this occurs in a personal college surroundings ALL the time, when you find yourself paying on your child to be taught by instructors who don’t appear to love kids in any respect. A overwhelming majority of the time, we spent the three to 4 hour block every night time instructing anyway, as a result of they weren’t taught the content material throughout their lessons.

Rising up, I additionally thought that homeschooled youngsters have been in all probability awkward as a result of they don’t have as a lot social interplay. The truth is that all the homeschooled youngsters I’ve met are form, articulate, pleasant, and extremely sensible.

Regardless that I’ve seen pals homeschool and type of daydreamed about how how enjoyable it might be, I didn’t take into account it a risk as a result of I work at 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 suppose twice about it after we received so far. I’ve shuffled my schedule round quite a bit 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 submit is already tremendous lengthy, so I’ll share one other submit quickly with the curriculum we’re utilizing and the way we construction our days.

Thanks on your kindness and being so wonderful over the previous few months. It’s been a tough 12 months in some ways (this is only one of them) and being right here with you all every day is a serious vibrant 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 further time collectively and are trying into all the cool homeschool actions that Tucson gives!

xoxo

Gina