Struggles

November 22, 2023

Things have been challenging this semester. We are starting to get into a rhythm. We de-schooled from January to the end of the public school year and then enjoyed our "summer break". We are trying to stay on par with the public schools for timing and such but we are obviously much more flexible. In September, we spent 3 weeks traveling for a family emergency and while I loved that we could be there for all of that, it really hindered us getting a routine down. Now that we are starting to get our ducks in a row     🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆, it's getting a little easier. I say a little because we have a 12 year old who is emotional and hormonal and does not take feedback well in any form and it is difficult to get to complete anything that isn't art and while I'm more then happy to give her all the art class/animation lessons possible, I know that the state still requires reading, writing, math, science, history, and PE. It's a challenge. The younger kids are getting things done fairly well knowing that when they finish their lessons they can play on the Switch or the computer with their aunts. Our 10 year old sometimes stays up late to finish her homework just so she doesn't have to do it the next day. I'll allow it. If they want to get a head then GREAT! We can work with that pretty easily. I also feel like the two youngest are way to smart for the current lessons but we don't want them to miss anything, like clocks or coins. I wouldn't have thought about those things at first. 

Homeschooling is hard. It's hard when they say they want to go back to public school. It's hard when they are wild and crazy and driving us parents insane. It's hard when ALL of them have questions at once and it feels impossible. 

"I never said it would be easy. I only said it would be worth it." 

Struggles we've encounter thus far....

1. Each kid is different

• I never thought about how my kids each learn differently and WOW it's hard to accommodate for each of them. 

  • Lapbooks were great for one of my kids but not all of them enjoyed it.

2. Getting them to do things are mandatory that they don't enjoy

• How do you help a child that hates writing? An interesting debacle in our home. 

  • We are trying out a school newspaper in hopes that it gives them the creative aspect they enjoy and the skills the state requires.

3. Dealing with the criticism from family and friends. 

• The initial push-back was disheartening, but as time has progressed we are receiving a lot more support from our circle.