We've come to the end of our journey.
John and Madi are officially enrolled in our new elementary school. When we had started our journey we had expected to homeschool the children through our transitional year and then reevaluate when we arrived in Michigan. When we realized we would be doing our transitional year in Houston our plans changed. It's interesting how the Spirit works, really. We had gone out to a celebratory lunch with Corey's family right after the match and as we were excitedly talking about where we would be heading I knew, I just knew that the kids needed to go back to school. I remember being very surprised as the words were coming out of my mouth to my mother-in-law, but Corey and I just knew it was what needed to happen. We then began to plan accordingly and were able to move into a fantastic fine arts and Vanguard magnet school zone that all four of us are simply giddy about.
Some observations on homeschooling from someone who has spent a year in the trenches...
1. Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart.
Homeschooling is tough. While many of the social stigmas of the past have lessened, a family who homeschools must be prepared to always be the odd one out. For me it wasn't such a big deal, I've spent my whole life being the odd one out. It was harder for me to see that my children were treated differently simply because they were homeschooled. However, they didn't seem too bothered by it.
2. Homeschooling is an around the clock job.
Planning and preparing never really stops. I always had something that I was working on, a topic I was studying, a problem I was trying to solve, activities I was trying to pull together etc. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it - but there was always something that needed to be done.
3. Never, ever, ever try to homeschool when you are trying to sell a house.
Selling our home was tremendously stressful, I think in large part because of the fact that I was trying to educate in the home I was trying to sell. I don't think we had a normal school day once the house went on the market. We showed the house almost every day, sometimes multiple times a day and often I was only given very short notice before people showed up. As I am one of those crazy people who had to have all the vacuum lines perfect, everything sparkly, a candle burning and soft music playing every time the house showed - our ability to spread out our papers, start an art project etc. was severely limited. I also lost our designated school room when we put our house up and had to move our little academy to the kitchen table. Not having a specific school zone was a challenge.
In fact, we have been doing school all summer to make up for the days we lost in the house selling process. When the kids get a little grumpy I remind them that they had their summer vacation in April and May.
4. Homeschooling is tremendously isolating.
Now, let me just preface that it doesn't have to be isolating. It just happened to be for us. We were the only family that we knew well who made it the entire year homeschooling. Many homeschooling co-ops/groups exist - and we even joined one for a time. Our local homeschooling group welcomed us until they found out we were LDS. As I very quickly realized the rather large problem that this was, even for people who had come to know my children well, I very rapidly excused ourselves from the group. It was rather sad really, but an important learning experience for me.
I was lonely much of the time. I felt like I was trying out so many new things without anyone besides my cute husband to bounce ideas off of, without anyone to tell me to 'take a deep breath, you're not ruining your children' etc.
In the end, I think the kids were lonely too. While they had plenty of socializing experiences throughout the week, they missed the peer interaction they received at school. Both of them have mentioned that this is what they are most excited about as the head back to school in a few weeks - they can't wait to make new friends.
5. Homeschooling is emotionally and physically exhausting.
I was totally and completely spent at the end of the day. I was always the most tired on Fridays - which meant that often our date nights were simply enjoying the treat of going to bed early. I think a lot of my exhaustion stemmed from the fact that I worried that I wasn't giving my kids the education I felt they deserved. Even on our very best days there was always the little nagging voice in my mind - 'Are you teaching them everything they need to know?' 'Are you ruining them?' 'How are you going to teach _____?' 'Are they thriving and excited about learning?' It was absolutely exhausting - and to be honest, it wore me completely and thoroughly out.
1. Homeschooling taught me a great deal about my kids.
I learned so very much about my children this past year. I came to have a much clearer understanding of how they learned and what made their brains tick. I learned how to move beyond what I thought would work to seeing the world from their eyes to better understand what really would work.
2. Homeschooling brought us closer as a family.
We made a lot of memories this year. When you are with your family 24/7 funny things are bound to happen which have left lasting impressions on our minds. John and Madi also became much, much closer this year. They interacted and played together much more then they did before. Now along with this closeness also came more fighting - but you can't have your cake and eat it too, right?
3. Homeschooling taught ME a lot.
Delving into world history, chemistry, Latin etc. was not only a learning adventure for the kids, it was a learning adventure for me. I learned so very much this year! Homeschooling reignited my desire to expand my horizons and study more of the world around me.
4. Homeschooling is wonderfully flexible.
We were able to do so many fun things this year without any real restrictions on our time - such as going to Disney World when no one was there. It was great to be able to vacation when we wanted, go on field trips when we wanted, sleep in when we wanted, visit with family when we wanted etc. I will seriously miss our flexibility this fall.
5. Homeschooling = no busy work
In our home we didn't have homework. Enough said.
Some observations on homeschooling from someone who has spent a year in the trenches...
1. Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart.
Homeschooling is tough. While many of the social stigmas of the past have lessened, a family who homeschools must be prepared to always be the odd one out. For me it wasn't such a big deal, I've spent my whole life being the odd one out. It was harder for me to see that my children were treated differently simply because they were homeschooled. However, they didn't seem too bothered by it.
2. Homeschooling is an around the clock job.
Planning and preparing never really stops. I always had something that I was working on, a topic I was studying, a problem I was trying to solve, activities I was trying to pull together etc. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it - but there was always something that needed to be done.
3. Never, ever, ever try to homeschool when you are trying to sell a house.
Selling our home was tremendously stressful, I think in large part because of the fact that I was trying to educate in the home I was trying to sell. I don't think we had a normal school day once the house went on the market. We showed the house almost every day, sometimes multiple times a day and often I was only given very short notice before people showed up. As I am one of those crazy people who had to have all the vacuum lines perfect, everything sparkly, a candle burning and soft music playing every time the house showed - our ability to spread out our papers, start an art project etc. was severely limited. I also lost our designated school room when we put our house up and had to move our little academy to the kitchen table. Not having a specific school zone was a challenge.
In fact, we have been doing school all summer to make up for the days we lost in the house selling process. When the kids get a little grumpy I remind them that they had their summer vacation in April and May.
4. Homeschooling is tremendously isolating.
Now, let me just preface that it doesn't have to be isolating. It just happened to be for us. We were the only family that we knew well who made it the entire year homeschooling. Many homeschooling co-ops/groups exist - and we even joined one for a time. Our local homeschooling group welcomed us until they found out we were LDS. As I very quickly realized the rather large problem that this was, even for people who had come to know my children well, I very rapidly excused ourselves from the group. It was rather sad really, but an important learning experience for me.
I was lonely much of the time. I felt like I was trying out so many new things without anyone besides my cute husband to bounce ideas off of, without anyone to tell me to 'take a deep breath, you're not ruining your children' etc.
In the end, I think the kids were lonely too. While they had plenty of socializing experiences throughout the week, they missed the peer interaction they received at school. Both of them have mentioned that this is what they are most excited about as the head back to school in a few weeks - they can't wait to make new friends.
5. Homeschooling is emotionally and physically exhausting.
I was totally and completely spent at the end of the day. I was always the most tired on Fridays - which meant that often our date nights were simply enjoying the treat of going to bed early. I think a lot of my exhaustion stemmed from the fact that I worried that I wasn't giving my kids the education I felt they deserved. Even on our very best days there was always the little nagging voice in my mind - 'Are you teaching them everything they need to know?' 'Are you ruining them?' 'How are you going to teach _____?' 'Are they thriving and excited about learning?' It was absolutely exhausting - and to be honest, it wore me completely and thoroughly out.
Enough of the negatives! On to the positives!
1. Homeschooling taught me a great deal about my kids.
I learned so very much about my children this past year. I came to have a much clearer understanding of how they learned and what made their brains tick. I learned how to move beyond what I thought would work to seeing the world from their eyes to better understand what really would work.
2. Homeschooling brought us closer as a family.
We made a lot of memories this year. When you are with your family 24/7 funny things are bound to happen which have left lasting impressions on our minds. John and Madi also became much, much closer this year. They interacted and played together much more then they did before. Now along with this closeness also came more fighting - but you can't have your cake and eat it too, right?
3. Homeschooling taught ME a lot.
Delving into world history, chemistry, Latin etc. was not only a learning adventure for the kids, it was a learning adventure for me. I learned so very much this year! Homeschooling reignited my desire to expand my horizons and study more of the world around me.
4. Homeschooling is wonderfully flexible.
We were able to do so many fun things this year without any real restrictions on our time - such as going to Disney World when no one was there. It was great to be able to vacation when we wanted, go on field trips when we wanted, sleep in when we wanted, visit with family when we wanted etc. I will seriously miss our flexibility this fall.
5. Homeschooling = no busy work
In our home we didn't have homework. Enough said.
With all the positives and negatives, would we homeschool again?
If the occasion arose I wouldn't hesitate to homeschool again. The first year is always the hardest with just about everything, I imagine that homeschooling is no exception. We have made the commitment as a couple to do whatever is in the best interest of our children academically and if homeschooling is what needs to happen, that's what it will be.
I really did love homeschooling. The Spirit directed us on this journey and taught us so much along the way. I will miss it as the kids start their new school in the fall. But life is an adventure and we're ready for our new twist in the road.
I really did love homeschooling. The Spirit directed us on this journey and taught us so much along the way. I will miss it as the kids start their new school in the fall. But life is an adventure and we're ready for our new twist in the road.
