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 varsity yr. 

Hello associates!

I hope that you simply’re having an incredible week and I’m so pumped that so a lot of you have got signed up for our Spring Ahead wellness problem. Be sure to enroll right here – it’s completely free and it’s going to be a ton of enjoyable. Should you’re on the lookout for a blast of motivation as we head into spring, that is the right option to do it!

For at the moment’s put up, I wished to share a bit of bit extra about our homeschool journey and what’s occurring. 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 all the time been open with you guys relating to my life, however the aim of the weblog has all the time 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 a lot of you might be part of our household. On the similar, I by no means need them to really feel like their privateness has been invaded by what I share right here, so I’ve all the time 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 had been all scuffling with the mind-boggling quantity of homework, exams, and assignments. It was particularly laborious along with her competitors dance schedule. We switched studios and minimize her hours in half, and he or she was nonetheless up till at the least midnight each evening (for the previous 2+ years) attempting to complete every part for varsity. I’m an enormous believer in laborious work and I believe tutorial rigor has its place, however it was an excessive amount of for everybody. So, she switched and has been thriving.

When she switched faculties, it was the primary time P hasn’t had her large 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 all the time fearful me since she had severe reflux as a baby 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 per week. Her abdomen ache and nervousness bought so unhealthy that she missed many days of college, and we had been right here attempting 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 massive packets of classwork, and taking her to highschool for exams. He had return to business airline coaching and I couldn’t fathom solo parenting, working, and attempting to maintain up with the entire college work she was lacking, so I requested her to both select to return to highschool or we might pull her out, and he or she 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 Lady! An amazing rec from Brittany.)

Additionally value mentioning right here that I made a decision to do a Food Sentivity Test (and another useful labs) and bought to the basis reason 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 drastically decreased.

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 need 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 children extra successfully than a instructor?”

Throughout the women’ time at school, we’ve had some extraordinary academics who’re every part academics needs to be. They love children, love what they’re educating, they’re above and past. However on the similar time, some academics are…not good. They are saying weird issues at school, disgrace youngsters in entrance of their friends, and this occurs in a personal college atmosphere ALL the time, if you find yourself paying on 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 evening educating anyway, as a result of they weren’t taught the content material throughout their courses.

Rising up, I additionally thought that homeschooled children had been most likely awkward as a result of they don’t have as a lot social interplay. The truth is that the entire homeschooled children I’ve met are type, articulate, pleasant, and extremely sensible.

Regardless that I’ve seen associates homeschool and form of daydreamed about how how enjoyable it will be, I didn’t take into account it a chance as a result of I work at home, juggling shopper calls, content material creation, podcast interviews, Zooms, IHP work, and many others. I didn’t really feel like I might add one other issues to my plate, however I didn’t even suppose twice about it after we bought up to now. 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 on 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 significant 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 further time collectively and are wanting into the entire cool homeschool actions that Tucson affords!

xoxo

Gina