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 simply’re having a tremendous week and I’m so pumped that so lots of you could have 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 approach to do it!

For at the moment’s publish, I needed to share somewhat 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 in relation to my life, however the aim of the weblog has at all times 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 lots 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 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 non-public faculty in January. We have been all fighting the mind-boggling quantity of homework, checks, and assignments. It was particularly exhausting together 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 evening (for the previous 2+ years) making an attempt to complete the whole lot 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 faculties, 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 at all times nervous 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 nervousness obtained so dangerous 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 checks.

The Pilot was residence for retirement and was educating her the content material, ensuring she accomplished the massive packets of classwork, and taking her to high school for checks. 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 faculty work she was lacking, so I requested her to both select to return to high school or we might pull her out, and he or she stated, “Please homeschool me.”

I by no means supposed to be a trainer, 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 price mentioning right here that I made a decision to do a Food Sentivity Test (and another purposeful 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 tremendously decreased.

Our plan now:

– She’s on the waitlist for Liv’s new faculty 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 youngsters extra successfully than a trainer?”

Throughout the ladies’ time at school, we’ve had some extraordinary academics who’re the whole lot academics must be. They love youngsters, 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 in school, disgrace youngsters in entrance of their friends, and this occurs in a non-public faculty setting ALL the time, when 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 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 type, articulate, pleasant, and extremely good.

Though I’ve seen pals 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 earn a living from 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 assume twice about it after we obtained up to now. I’ve shuffled my schedule round loads so that almost all of my content material creation is finished over the weekend, and the sweetness about homeschool is that it solely takes round two hours every day at this age.

This publish is already tremendous lengthy, so I’ll share one other publish 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 shiny 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 the entire cool homeschool actions that Tucson gives!

xoxo

Gina