We have made the decision to homeschool our younger children. Kayla will stay in public school where she is happy, so I'm starting fresh with Maddie. Kindergarten will start in our house sometime within the next 2 weeks. The original plan was to start on July 14, while K is visiting my parents in PA but not all of our books have arrived yet so we need to wait til everything gets here and til I can organize everything, shop for our project supplies and go over my checklist a couple of times to make sure everything is in place.
The thought is kind of daunting. We like to go go go all the time and frequently we rush through our chores (or give up when I realize I'm not going to make any progress) and hop in the car to make a trip to the park or a friend's house. Other times we invite all the friends here for an all day playdate. We have a great circle of friends and there is always someone ready and willing to have a playdate. We call them playdates, but really it's mama time. We cook, sew, eat, clean and mostly just sit around a kitchen table and gab while the kids play. It's incredibly therapeutic and through these conversations I have laughed, cried, and learned tons from these incredible women whom I'm lucky to have as friends.
However, once we start school, the days of spontaneous playdates, shopping trips, and outings will most likely end. Kindergarten, as I've been told, should only take about 1 hour a day or less. Our program is likely to take longer and with a baby and energetic 3 year old I'll probably stretch our "school" day to 2-3 hours sometimes. Then there are the chores and all the other things that go along with parenting my children and caring for my home.
I guess the easy way out would be to send my daughter to the big brick box down the road, but I just can't do that. There is no way the kindergarten teachers know how to teach my child. I know they all have great intentions and most are generally good people, but will they really take the time to know my child? Are they going to give her exactly what she needs? They won't and they can't be the kind of teacher my sweet girl needs.
Homeschooling in our state is very common, so there are many resources available to us. We can take classes at the McWane Center, or Zoo this year. When she gets older there are coops where she can learn with other children. There are organized park days for homeschoolers, drama classes, ice skating classes, sports teams, field trips, clubs to join and many friends to be made. I have heard from other Alabama homeschoolers that fitting in time to do actual "schooling" is sometimes hard with all of the outside activities and classes that are available. This thrills me. I am so happy to have a world of resources available for my children.
Even Kayla, who is in public school, will benefit from this as we go on a homeschooling field trip to WDW in December. Both girls will participate in Disney's YES program during one of our days there and prior to the trip I will educate them about the countries we will "visit" in Epcot, and the regions we will "visit" in Animal Kingdom.
We will be using Winterpromise's Adv K Language Arts, Animals in their Worlds and Horizon Math K for Madelyn. Nicholas will be doing Winterpromise's I'm Ready To Learn preschool program.
Figuring out how to schedule our day will do doubt be a struggle as we get started. Many other homeschoolers have told me that it pays to remain flexible and rework the system over and over again til I find a way that works for us.
Pray for us as we start this wonderful journey! We'll need it!
1 comment:
This was a great post. I think it's very perceptive of you to realize right off that your lifestyle will change to a certain degree. Having one in public school can make things even more busy. But rest assured, you can do this! You may have to be selective with your get-togethers with friends, scheduling only one afternoon per week for visiting, for example. It can be so easy to get sidetracked and put off school for a day in the name of socialization. But for some moms, one day leads to another. . .and another. The kids will benefit immensely from consistent, daily school time, so don't let too much socializing get in the way. Just try to keep things balanced!
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