Good morning! We've had a lot of changes lately, not just in our school, but life in general. We're trying to figure out what's going to work best for everyone. So many struggles this year. It's been frustrating for all of us. Our routine has been disrupted. Attitudes were flaring. Sass was strong. Hormones are raging. All while disrespect was at an all time high. I used to pride myself on how well behaved my children were. Use to. Sigh. It's been hard for me to get on here and write a blog post because frankly I didn't know what to say. Here I am to talk about the hard. Something nobody in the social media world talks about. I know my family isn't alone in this hard phase of life. But, let's chat about what we're trying while finding our new groove.
Routines. Because we school our kids at home, their education is our priority. We have tried hundreds of different routines over the six years of home educating. It seems that when we find one that works, it's not necessarily going to work long. There are so many "seasons" of life that one routine won't fit into all of them. So when a new activity is on the schedule, we have to adjust accordingly. Which then affects the rest of the day. So then we're finding a new routine. Again. It's a cycle. One thing that we know is that we all thrive on a routine. Right now a routine typically stays in place for two months and then we have to tweak it.
What's working right now? Letting go. Truly. There is one rule. Their work has to be done before the next morning. That way I have time to grade it before they start the new days work. Why would I allow this? One of them came to me stating that when they have to do school when I say, they are rushing to get their work done and not locking in what they're reading. They're just doing it to get it done. So they can get on doing the things they want to do. Makes sense. I've seen it in their work. We let go of timed school. They're doing it on their time and it's working. I've loved watching them take charge of their schedule for the day. Sometimes they do their school during the day, but a lot of times the choose to complete it at bedtime. This is our second week doing it like this and I have to say that the attitudes are no longer present and we're all much calmer.
Curriculum. When you think you've found the perfect match for your child and then bam, slap in the face. One way I know something is not working has been a lot of complaining and defiance. I don't always change the material, but I do start looking at what I think may be a better fit. I really hate changing it so if I do, we've had too many frustrating days.
What's working right now? Online school! I never wanted to use this option. I resisted it with all my might. But once we started seriously talking about private school, I knew I had to look into it. The kids don't want to go to public, private, or chartered school. But, I was at my wits end and had to find something that would work for all of us. So, after researching different online schools, we chose Power Homeschool. And it's working. For now. There's only one thing that I don't like about it. But, it's probably a good thing. There is no option to skip a lesson if they already know it. It starts at the beginning of the class. No skipping ahead. Like I said, probably a good thing. Ha! So, while its really easy right now, I told them to just enjoy the easy because the day will come when it gets more difficult.
Why do we continue to home educate when it can bring so much tension and frustration? Because those feelings are part of life and they don't last forever. It's rare that they last more than 30 minutes. But, those 30 minutes are intense! Watching the close friendship they have is pretty sweet too. Sure, they're normal siblings and they fight and bicker. But, they're quick to forgive and best friends in no time.
We also love the freedom we have with our life. We can take a spur of them moment trip. Don't have to give notice or get approval. We can just go. If we want, we can take the work with us. But, that's not too often.
This trip was planned far in advance because we brought along the grandparents, but our epic 2022 five week trip would not have happened if they were in public school
Teaching the kids life skills is a high priority for us. Home educating is preparing our kids for the real world. Of course academics are also high on the list. But now we have more time in our day to add in daily life skills practice. Sure, kids still learn life skills when they don't home educate. But, we can truly define the skills to represent everyday life. From making grocery lists, going to buy the groceries, then putting them away. To prepping and making meals. To creating budgets and learning the importance of them. To caring for a home. Washing, drying, and putting away your laundry. Mowing. There's so much more that we have them do that I don't think they would if they weren't home everyday.
Are we perfect. Nope. Never will be. We're human. We're going to mess up, have attitudes, and fight with our siblings. But each day we wake up, we have a fresh start to do what's right.
Have a wonderful day!
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