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 pals!

I hope that you just’re having an incredible week and I’m so pumped that so a lot of you could 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 proper approach to do it!

For at this time’s put up, I needed to share a little 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 troublesome to navigate how and what to share. I’ve all the time been open with you guys in relation 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 difficult 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 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 scuffling with the mind-boggling quantity of homework, checks, and assignments. It was particularly laborious together with her competitors dance schedule. We switched studios and reduce her hours in half, and he or she was nonetheless up till at the very least midnight each evening (for the previous 2+ years) attempting to complete all the pieces for college. I’m an enormous believer in laborious work and I believe educational 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 massive 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 frightened 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 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 obtained so unhealthy that she missed many days of college, and we have been right here attempting to maintain up with the insane quantity of homework, classwork, and checks.

The Pilot was dwelling for retirement and was instructing her the content material, ensuring she accomplished the large packets of classwork, and taking her to highschool for checks. He had return to industrial 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 may 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 practical labs) and obtained 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 enormously 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 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 mother or father count on to show their youngsters extra successfully than a instructor?”

Throughout the ladies’ time in class, we’ve had some extraordinary lecturers who’re all the pieces lecturers needs to be. They love youngsters, love what they’re instructing, they’re above and past. However on the similar time, some lecturers 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, when you’re paying in 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 instructing 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 in all probability awkward as a result of they don’t have as a lot social interplay. The fact is that the entire homeschooled youngsters I’ve met are sort, articulate, pleasant, and extremely sensible.

Though I’ve seen pals homeschool and sort of daydreamed about how how enjoyable it will be, I didn’t take into account it a chance as a result of I do business from home, juggling consumer calls, content material creation, podcast interviews, Zooms, IHP work, and so on. I didn’t really feel like I may add one other issues to my plate, however I didn’t even assume twice about it after we obtained up to now. I’ve shuffled my schedule round quite a bit so that the majority of my content material creation is finished over the weekend, and the wonder 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 in your kindness and being so superb 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 trying into the entire cool homeschool actions that Tucson affords!

xoxo

Gina