Change! Aah that word alone invites a variety of emotions! The transition from Public to Home school can be scary..even in the best of situations. Why?
If like myself you have been dropping off your kids to the local school, you know that moment when it's quiet and you can relish in your own thoughts. Oh the peace and quiet! Whatever will I do with myself? Shall I stop and get a coffee, make plans with friends, make a lunch date with my husband..For about 6 hrs I can roam FREEEEEE! Well...with the exception of chores and dinner. Ok, maybe not that free, but you get the idea.
Then for whatever reason, you decide to home school. For us the decision came about after much volunteering in the school. We had originally home schooled our oldest children a few years prior. When the recession hit, we both found it necessary to seek outside employment. We both grew up in public schools so we were not against it. So for 3 years we sent them. In those 3 years they were exposed to many things, ideas, and people. Some good and some bad. Eventually the bad outweighed the good.
I could go on and on about the dysfunction of public school. Trust me I have stories, that make my stomach hurt. But I would much rather focus on the positive aspects of deciding to Home School instead.
I was really nervous at first. Although I had done it before, this time ALL of the children are in school. So I wondered if I was even capable. Fortunately for us there was a viable option, K12. It is a free home based public school.
Why did we choose this type of Home school?
As I mentioned, we had home schooled a few years back. I was the primary teacher and did it both ways. Free public home school, and where I picked out all of the curriculum myself. When they were back in public school I felt like I had overlooked certain technical aspects of there education. That being said, they each won the science fair at grade level, multiple awards and were at the top of their classes. However their were things I missed, when I picked out the curriculum. An example was grammar, I did not teach them every rule.. predicates, and so on. Of course if you read this, you will see imperfections in my grammar. I BE DONE TOLD IT FIRST, I AINT ALWAYS THE BESTEST AT THAT GRAMMARFACATIONS STUFF. Math is not a strong point for me either. So I felt safer using a standardized curriculum. I like the fact that they have a teacher that I can refer to.
As parents we have always used daily life as a teacher. I learned this from my Mom, she always taught us and we didn't even notice that we were learning. If we are cooking, we discuss certain spices and their country of origin. If it's raining we talk about the water cycle and it's Creator. When we are driving, we explain laws and their importance. We do not keep things dry and monotonous. We expose them to Opera, Art, Foreign Languages. But in a way that appeals to them. Normal situation often present the best subjects. The result is that they are bright and open minded to a variety of things.We love that about them.
I remember when they were really small, they wanted to know where they were before birth. I simply told them that they were figments in our imagination. One day I over heard them playing an elaborate game. It sounded a lot like house. As I listened I realized that they had developed an entire game that they called figment-land. They were 2 and 4 yrs old. It reiterated the fact that children can learn and embrace difficult concepts at an early age.
My biggest worry I had about schooling them at home was keeping everything orderly during the day. It had become so much easier to do my housework when they were at school. I could clean and enjoy it staying that way. To combat this potential glitch, at beginning of summer we assigned age appropriate concrete chores. Everyone has a specific job to do all of the time. We did this so that they could get used to helping out on a bigger scale. It has helped a lot. To avoid chaos we created work areas for schoolwork. For my personal sanity I purchased adult furniture that matches our decor. I did not want our living area to look like a Kinder class. Costco had a great deal on an 8 cube bookcase with canvas bins for $109.00.(Pictures are in my product review section.) A challenge we initially faced was getting them back on a sleep schedule. My husband came up with a solution. He wakes them up early, around 6am. We read the bible and then he does P.E with them. Works out well. They are falling asleep earlier. We all are. School shopping- we still do it. They like picking out school clothes, and getting dressed each day.
I love the feeling that comes Monday morning when you hear all of the buses passing by. I look over at our children and enjoy the fact that they are no longer rushed or worried about whats popular today. Just then my daughter appears and pleads, Mom can you please turn on You tube so that I can listen to Tchaikovsky, while I work? It helps me learn." Love it!
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