Since this blog-o-mine is supposed to have a little something to do with homeschooling (according to my blog subtitle anyway), I thought I'd share why we decided to school our kids at home.
In August we began our second consecutive year of homeschooling. I say consecutive because we homeschooled for a year when my oldest, Todd, was in 4th grade and my second oldest, Zack, was in kindergarten. They're now starting 10th grade and 6th grade. YIKES! Where does the time go?
Anywho, back to my story. You might want to pop some popcorn. I can be a long-winded sometimes.
We made the decision to homeschool Todd because he was struggling to stay on task. We'd been going through this since the first grade. He was bored with the work and would end up distracting the other students. Every teacher I talked to told me he was so far beyond the rest of the class, which was why he was bored. Nothing we tried helped him succeed in the public school setting. So, we researched homeschooling, prayed about it, and decided to go for it. I was working at night, had a baby, a toddler, plus the two school-aged kiddos. Honestly, it felt like more of a whirlwind of craziness than anything that might have resembled school. I was overwhelmed and felt like I didn't have any outside support, with the exception of my hubby. I let all the negative voices win (mine and others), and I sent the kids back to public school the next year.
Flash forward four years and we have bullying issues (Todd was the kid who'd get suspended because he defended himself), a sleep disorder (Todd again--started in the 5th grade---of course that led to issues with teachers), a move to a new school district, more issues with teachers because they didn't understand the sleep disorder, more bullying (the younger boys this time) . . . you get the picture. Less than three months at the new school and thoughts of homeschooling started cluttering my mind.
I began to panic. I seriously freaked out a little. All I could think about was the last time we attempted homeschooling. This time around I would be teaching all four of them with one of those being high school age. What the heck was I thinking?
I struggled with this decision for quite a while. Months. Ian and I discussed the pros and cons along with the possibility of homeschooling the younger three and letting the oldest finish public high school despite the sleep issues. I prayed and prayed about this. I can't remember another time that I'd prayed so intently over something. And just when I thought I felt good about homeschooling, there'd be a monkey wrench thrown into the plan. Finally, I prayed for some sort of sign. I told Heavenly Father if this was what He wanted me to do, then I needed to know beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Guess what? I received an answer to that prayer.
My youngest, Lauren, was out of school for kindergarten registration day. She had a tall order for her special alone-time-with-mommy day. She wanted to have lunch at the golden arches (Ptooie!) and go to the park to play. Even though that's not my favorite place to eat, it's the girl's, so that's where we went. We made it to the park just as a group of moms and kids were packing up to leave. I knew they had to be homeschoolers. I could hardly contain my excitement! I had a nice chat with one of the moms for a few minutes before they left. We exchanged numbers, facebook info, and homeschool group info. As I talked with this mom, I felt an immense weight lifting from my shoulders and an incredible warmth hugging my entire body. This was it. My sign.
From that moment I knew homeschooling was the plan, and I haven't looked back. WE haven't looked back. My only regret is not sticking with it the first time around. But I think that was part of the plan too. I believe He knew I needed time to grow as a mom and feel more confident in my abilities.
No matter what negative comments might come our way, or if we get weird looks in Walmart because my motley crew is in there during school hours . . . all of that doesn't matter, because I know I'm doing what my Heavenly Father wants me to do. If I start to feel a little overwhelmed, I just remember that day at the park and the feeling I had, and I know that I can keep going. Everything will be ok.
And sometimes my hubby has to rescue me and take me on a mini date to Sonic for a half-priced milkshake.
That's ok too.
You know what? We haven't had the first negative comment or nasty look. At least not when I'm looking or listening. But who cares? More often than not, the adults we meet on a regular basis (bank, grocery story, gas station, library) know we homeschool. And the ones who don't know are surprisingly accepting of our answer when they ask, "Is school out today?".
