Homeschooling is NOT for everyone. I'm not going to ever sugar-coat anything here, so I certainly won't tell you our days are 24 hours of bliss & giggles as my kids sit quietly & listen to me teach them all they'll ever need to know. Not. Even. Close.
-however-
We are sleeping a little later (though we're currently not sleeping much at night, but that's another story), we're lounging in our pajamas a little longer, and we're moving at whatever pace works for us each day. Some days start out really rough. Okay, okay, MOST days do - homeschooling didn't erase KMan's ADHD (big emphasis on the *H* there). There's chaos & loudness - oh, so much loudness! BUT we're in our pjs with Peppa Pig playing (loudly) in the background & no stress over getting ready for school, as I attempt to drink my coffee before it gets cold (which is happening more & more these days!). By the time we're ready to start our school day, we're in a better place. We start our day with our Bible lesson & then move right into math. KMan LOVES Life of Fred, and even asks Sweetie Pie Sparkles to join him on the couch while we cuddle & read. <---That, my friends, is one of the HUGE blessings of homeschool! Then we do some random fun things to secretly sneak knowledge into KMan's head, and then we either get outside for a while or we do some type of art/music "lesson". It's fun. I mean, it's hard some moments because Sweetie Pie Sparkles is SUPER two-ish these days, but it's fun. After our "break", we do handwriting & reading (which is usually me reading while the boys play PlayDoh) & then we are done with school. Gosh, it's just so much work teaching this kid. When Sweetie Pie Sparkles cooperates & takes a nap, KMan & I have been able to play Battleship (he's moved on from Monopoly!), goof off on the computer, chat (he LOVES to chat. and chat. and chat...), and just enjoy some time together. It's kinda awesome, even if I did have to give up my own afternoon naps.
I've planned a weekly field trip day & so far we've been to the Botanic Gardern/Arboretum & to the Museum of Natural Science. Both were fun & neither were crowded. <---Another blessing of homeschool, few crowds in an over-crowded city is wonderful! KMan LOVED the museum, especially the exhibit on gems (he wants to be a prospector/miner!). He is going to science lab every week & he's super happy about that because it's so hands on. He even did an experiment with dry ice, which we all know is fun stuff. He's getting to play with friends at the park & getting lots of socialization - hours of it, instead of 15-30 minute stretches.
KMan's life is pretty great right now, and the best part is - he knows it! When I first told him he wasn't going back to public school, it was not pretty. He was VERY upset & said a lot of mean things. I "ruined his year" (though not his life, lol). I was afraid he was going to take extra convincing about how awesome homeschooling is. I thought it would take months of lots of strategically planned FUN for him to see the benefits of homeschooling.
Nope.
Here we are, at the end of week 2, and he has declared that
he never wants to go to public school again.
Also, he has requested that I not enroll him in high school or college, and instead I should be his personal tour guide of all museums & such at that stage of life, so he'll just learn from me. Something tells me he'll change his mind by college, but I'm happy to have this win for now!!
His anxiety has lessened. His thirst for knowledge is increasing. His bond with his brother his growing. His respect for me is building. His ability to be himself has been restored, and while it may be crazy to deal with at time, it's so great to see him happy to be HIM again.
It's a tough thing, to homeschool. I'm trying not to pressure myself into teaching to the standard of public school. To be okay with him not learning something his public school peers may learn is challenging, but I remind myself that there are things he gets to learn that they don't. He's reading, and he's listening to me read, and from my perspective that's the most important thing at his age. The rest will come in time. Intelligence is not a race, and it comes most easily when it is desired.
I'm pretty tired by the end of the day, and my house is even more of a mess than it was a month ago. Some days I really want to just run away the second I can hand off parenting duties to daddy (and by run away, I totally mean go to the grocery store. ALONE). We're still finding our groove & figuring out how to handle all being together 24/7/365 (remember - daddy works from home - so we're really ALL here, ALL the time!). I can honestly say though, I wouldn't trade the past two weeks of
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