Our school year is coming to an end in less than two
weeks! This year has been a bit strange
for us school-wise but also very rewarding.
It started with both of my older kids getting enrolled in the public
school. I was burnt out, overwhelmed,
and suffering bad postpartum depression after the birth of our fourth
child. I just couldn’t manage so I
thought public school would be best for a year.
Well, that didn’t last one. Long story short, my oldest, Ashlee, was moved from the elementary school to the middle school and then back to homeschooling all in less than a month! She tested well above average in school and academically she did great. However, we weren’t a fan of what was going on in school and neither was she. So, we pulled her out and got a lot of independent curriculum so she could homeschool without a lot of work on my end. Katie stayed in school (part time in a regular classroom and part time in the special education classroom – she has high functioning autism). Things were going pretty good until she came home for Christmas and said she didn’t want to go back. She was upset with how some kids were treating her (a boy kept trying to kiss her and she was being teased) and she just wasn’t happy. So, we pulled her out and got some cheap homeschool curriculum since I wasn’t expecting to homeschool her yet.
Well, that didn’t last one. Long story short, my oldest, Ashlee, was moved from the elementary school to the middle school and then back to homeschooling all in less than a month! She tested well above average in school and academically she did great. However, we weren’t a fan of what was going on in school and neither was she. So, we pulled her out and got a lot of independent curriculum so she could homeschool without a lot of work on my end. Katie stayed in school (part time in a regular classroom and part time in the special education classroom – she has high functioning autism). Things were going pretty good until she came home for Christmas and said she didn’t want to go back. She was upset with how some kids were treating her (a boy kept trying to kiss her and she was being teased) and she just wasn’t happy. So, we pulled her out and got some cheap homeschool curriculum since I wasn’t expecting to homeschool her yet.
Since pulling them both out, I am so happy and so are the
kids. My kids love being home and I love
them being home. My depression is gone
and I am back to my old self. I love
teaching them and watching them grow.
Both the kids have done great with their school work and love having
more time to do the things they love.
Ashlee has really blossomed as a creative writer and writes wonderful
stories! Katie has really blossomed
academically and is quickly learning how to read (she is now at her level!) and
loves math. Life is great and
homeschooling is great. I couldn’t ask
for more.
This year met all the goals we set academically but it was a
bit boring because it was workbook heavy. I am an unschooler at heart (I was an complete unschooler for several years) and I find curriculum so restricting and just flat out boring. Thankfully though, we keep our school days short and always had time for long hikes, nature walks, exploration, reading, cuddling, and just enjoying life and learning together. Next year however, we will be doing less workbooks and more hands-on, creative
learning together. I want more fun and freedom in our homeschool for this upcoming year.
We wanted a change badly so we already started most of our curriculum
for next year and got rid of the workbooks.
The changes were needed and help boost the fun factor in our house!
No comments:
Post a Comment