As I was packing up our old house, I was talking to my dad about schools for mini once we moved. We originally moved out to Never Never Land because their school system was rated a 9 out of 10 and we didn’t want to have to pay for private school for the kids. But I was thoroughly unimpressed with their 9 and I was explaining to my dad some of the issues that we faced in school–namely that mini wasn’t being challenged and that she was a disruption in her classroom because she was bored. My dad told me that I should be supplementing her learning at home and as he said that, I was really discouraged because even if I did that, she would still get bad reports because she was bored. This was the initial introduction to the thought of homeschooling.
Homeschooling Is Not For the Weak
Not that I’m some expert on homeschooling, but it’s also not that foreign for me. One of my favorite blogging friends homeschools her three children and these kids are brilliant. Seriously. Like I feel the need to read up on all the subjects before we engage in a conversation type of brilliant. One of my close friends homeschooled her son for a bit. And I used to be a teacher–not that teaching your own child is the same thing AT ALL. But I felt like I could give it a go and be successful. So we are.
It’s been a month now that I’ve had both of them home and wow, I really give much props to the homeschooling parents in the world. We’ve had some bad days where I wondered just what I was thinking when I made the decision to put mini (and abc’s) education before my sanity. But we’ve also had some really fun days where learning was a breeze and the world was our classroom. I would be lying if I didn’t say that we were still getting into our homeschooling groove because we are. I haven’t been feeling 100% since the beginning of the year and that’s taken a toll on my patience levels and everything but overall, they have grown so much in this month.
Learning To Balance Life With Homeschooling
I think the hardest part for me has been the amount “me” time that I no longer get. I know, it sounds rather selfish, right? But I’m a firm believer that the time that I spend nurturing myself makes me a better wife and mother. Up until today, I had SERIOUSLY neglected myself. I hadn’t gotten my eyebrows waxed in a month. I can’t remember the last time I walked up and down the aisles of Target aimlessly or went grocery shopping without the constant squawking of, “Mommy can I have___?” But that’s part of learning the balance.
Today I took them with me to get my eyebrows done. They acted like they had sense and my fears of them destroying the eyebrow salon and being kicked out with only one brow threaded were dispelled. I’m learning that just because I’m homeschooling my kids doesn’t mean that I neglect myself, errands, or basically anything that requires me to get out the car with both of them. While I don’t like them to be on my phone or tablet all the time, I’m learning that there are times when I need them to be completely buried in whatever electronic device they have for my sanity. And I’m learning that that’s ok.
This isn’t one of those posts jam-packed with delicious information to help but those will come. Until then, feel free to drop some of your favorite resources in the comments section!
