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 simply’re having an incredible week and I’m so pumped that so a lot of you’ve signed up for our Spring Ahead wellness problem. Make certain to enroll right here – it’s completely free and it’s going to be a ton of enjoyable. Should you’re in search of a blast of motivation as we head into spring, that is the proper strategy to do it!

For at present’s submit, 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 at all times been open with you guys relating to 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 once they’re an enormous a part of my life and I really feel like so a lot of you’re 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 college in January. We had been all fighting the mind-boggling quantity of homework, exams, 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 not less than midnight each night time (for the previous 2+ years) making an attempt to complete every thing 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 huge sis in school, 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 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 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 anxiousness obtained so dangerous that she missed many days of faculty, and we had been right here making an attempt to maintain up with the insane quantity of homework, classwork, and exams.

The Pilot was dwelling 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 industrial airline coaching and I couldn’t fathom solo parenting, working, and making an attempt to maintain up with all the 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 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 practical labs) and obtained to the basis explanation 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 lowered.

Our plan now:

– She’s on the waitlist for Liv’s new college however realistically gained’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 mum or dad count on to show their youngsters extra successfully than a trainer?”

In the course of the ladies’ time in class, we’ve had some extraordinary lecturers who’re every thing lecturers needs to be. They love youngsters, love what they’re educating, they’re above and past. However on the similar 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’re paying to 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 educating anyway, as a result of they weren’t taught the content material throughout their lessons.

Rising up, I additionally thought that homeschooled youngsters had been most likely 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 good.

Although I’ve seen pals homeschool and sort of daydreamed about how how enjoyable it will be, I didn’t contemplate it a chance as a result of I earn a living from home, juggling shopper calls, content material creation, podcast interviews, Zooms, IHP work, and so on. I didn’t really feel like I might add one other issues to my plate, however I didn’t even suppose twice about it once we obtained so far. I’ve shuffled my schedule round so much so that the majority of my content material creation is completed over the weekend, and the wonder 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 to your kindness and being so superb 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 significant 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 additional time collectively and are trying into all the cool homeschool actions that Tucson affords!

xoxo

Gina