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| Noah really dislikes having his picture taken. His favorite part about homeschool is eating when he wants.... |
Homeschool.... We're doing this. We are really doing this. If you told me ten years ago that I would one day be thrilled to homeschool I would not have believed you. I am however beyond thrilled. Over the moon excited about this adventure.
It started as a joke. We are going to Disney in December. Shhhhh. The kids don't know!
So naturally I looked up the schools policy on making up work. Noah would miss four days of school. Four days he would not be able to make up any work because his absence would be unexcused. Jokingly I mentioned to my husband that if we homeschooled that wouldn't be an issue. That led to discussing how bored Noah was the last two years with school. It wasn't challenging enough for him. He'd quickly finish his work and spend the remainder of his time talking to his classmates, which his teachers didn't enjoy. He'd draw ON HIS CLOTHES. We could put him in the AIM program but that only got him out of the classroom once a week. We could test him up a grade but the jump from third to fifth grade socially is huge and I wasn't comfortable with that. So that's when I found myself making the decision to homeschool. I'm so glad we chose to do it.
We actually started as soon as the different things I ordered began to arrive. Noah was that excited about it. We're about 2 months into it and it's going well. I love teaching him something and watching him go through the process of learning. We do of course have days when he is just not having it. Days when he could care less about learning. Those are the days I really have to practice patience and not let my mind wander to why are we doing this again? He's a kid. He's going to have good days and bad days. I will too.
I did however underestimate a few things. For instance, I stay at home. That used to mean while Noah was at school I'd play with Emily and clean the house. Well now Noah's school is here. I'm trying to find a balance to it all. More often than not my house is a mess (The Messy House) but Noah has learned something and Emily is happy. The house is not my top priority lol. I save Math and Science for when Emily naps. Those are the two subjects Noah needs me sitting with him at the table for. The rest of them I can help him with while I do the dishes or play babies with Emily for the 100th time that day
Homeschooling works for us for now. I honestly feel God has been leading me to this. He has been preparing me. He has provided in so many ways. Two or even just one year ago I could not have done this. I can feel Him stretching me. I see the growth. I used to pray all the time to be a patient parent, I still do. I am far from having the patience thing down but I am leaps and bounds from where I was. I could not sit at the table going over and over a lesson without exploding in frustration without that growth. (I feel like that's a whole blog post in itself.)
I'm just really enjoying this new season of our lives. I will embrace the smooth joyful days because they will sustain me through the rough ones lol. Most of all I'm enjoying this extra time I have with Noah. Time passes so quickly.
