I will have a two-student classroom as of the end of this month! I'm excited and scared at the same time, filled with hope and optimism with a healthy shot of trepidation thrown in for good measure. I'm feeling very thankful for having had the experience of completing a couple of my college classes by way of independent learning, because that experience has prepared me in many ways for this. Time management is key, and it eases my mind knowing that we will find our groove after a few weeks and the fear of the unknown will be behind us.
As it turned out, R heard G and I discussing his Kindergarten curriculum and some of the things we planned to do as far as field trips and hands-on learning, and she became more interested by the day. Finally, she just flat out asked me if she could be homeschooled, too. I had been on the fence about her. I never suggested she try homeschooling, but I did let her know the option was open if she wanted. I have been working closely and constantly with G from the time he was a baby because of his speech disorder and autism, so we work extremely well together and I feel confident being his learning coach. With R, it is an unknown. She could be less than pleasant during some of her homework assignments, but I'm not sure how much of that was how we work together and how much was saturation point - the simple fact that a 7 year-old child started her school day by getting on the bus at 8:30am and was still dealing with school at 6:30pm.
I don't want to sound like I am anti-homework. In fact, quite the opposite is true. I felt such a disconnect with my daughter being in public school, and I sincerely welcomed the opportunity to be involved in her education in any way. I think homework is an excellent way for parents to show an interest in their child's education and spend time together working on something important. But I wanted to be involved more, especially in the more enjoyable aspects of the learning process before the end of the day has come and we're all just exhausted and pressing through the motions so we can get to bed and start over the next day.
Until she started public school, I was highly involved in my daughter's learning experiences. And I loved it. I hoped I would adjust to her going off to school. Society says I am supposed to; age 5 is when children are expected to leave the family home for as many as 8 hours per day to begin their structured educations. But it just felt like something had been stolen, from all of us. And when my sweet girl was bullied, and coming home with an education I did not sign up for, it only made things feel more wrong. But at the same time, she thrived academically and undeniably had wonderful teachers. I did not want to take that experience from her by encouraging her to follow my heart; I want her to follow her own heart.
I guess I didn't realize just how much I truly wanted her to want to do homeschool with us. I kept asking over and over to make sure, and her decision did not waver. And since our decision was made, our home has been filled with more happiness than we've collectively experienced for some time. I no longer dread the start of school, I look forward to it excitedly as we begin our new journey as a family, the way I feel it ought to be. For us.
And the curriculum? Fantastic! I have a great deal to say about that, and I will soon.
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