I hate being scheduled to my breaking point. That is what life has been the past few months. I have hardly had time to come up for air. You know that feeling when there is light at the end of the tunnel? I can see the light, it's getting bigger and clearer every day and I feel relief. Peace.
We have made a huge decision in the past few weeks. Eden will not be attending the local public elementary school next year. I filed my Notice of Intent to Homeschool with the county's School Superintendent yesterday.
You may or may not know that we made the decision last year to put Eden in public school for the 2012-2013 school year. We didn't enjoy our homeschool experience. I really wanted to love having her "in school". I wanted to enjoy my "freedom" and let someone else do the hard work of educating her. I was already making plans to go back to school myself when Theo started Kindergarten! Funny thing about my plans... they rarely work out the way I plan them.
Long story short, public school didn't work out. There were many things that didn't work for us, but the biggest was the schedule. Eden had to be in bed so early (in order to get up on time to catch the bus in the morning) and Brandon comes home from work so late, that they hardly saw each other. I also joined the PTA and volunteered to be the secretary. That was a huge time commitment in the evenings that further disrupted the family. I feel like our family life has been on hold for the past 9 months.
There are 9 1/2 school days left and that light is growing brighter. I'm getting my family back!
I'm working to figure out what we will do differently this time around. I feel a conviction about homeschooling this time, so that is helpful. Not having public school as a back-up means I have to do things well. I know a little bit more about Eden now, so I can work better to meet her needs. She has a bit of understanding about the requirement to get your work done after being in "real" school for a year. She is also a good reader now, which means she will be capable of at least some independent work.
I am terrified and excited and struggling with the lazy, undisciplined, whiny I dont' wanna part of myself. Tell me I'm not alone in that.
You are ***so*** not alone!!! I have been quitting homeschooling every year for 10 years! But the conviction always comes, each year I tweak what we're doing, and we keep going. The one thing that keeps me on track is that I absolutely know that this is best for ***our*** family. Not everyone. Just us. I'll be praying for you as you re-begin the journey.
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