I've gotten a lot of questions and comments lately when I've mentioned home schooling in passing, so I thought I'd do a little post about it. For those of you who may be new-ish to the blog, or maybe just don't log every, single thing I ever tell you (what do you mean I'm not the most important person in your life?), here's a little back story:
Hope was always a VERY shy little girl. When she was a little one we had to force her to talk to people when they spoke to her. If we went to the park she wouldn't play with the other little kids, instead she just quietly followed them from a distance, never speaking a word. Getting her to socialize at all was very tough and a little worrisome. Johnny and I are a pretty quiet, shy couple, so we were wondering if we had damaged her from the get-go. Public school was an obvious choice for us. We were sure it would force her to interact with other kids, talk to teachers (grown-ups!), and be around other personalities for a change.
Hope attended two years of public school. The first year (Kindergarten) was a good stretch for her. She made some friends, started opening up, and even loved (and spoke to) her teacher. It made us very happy to know that even though we were without her for 7 hours a day, she was getting what she needed elsewhere. A couple of questionable incidents occurred (I'll save those stories for another day), but we just chalked it up to public school.
The second year was a little different. Over the summer Hope had pretty much come out of her shell. We had lots of play dates and summertime fun with other kids. She was excited to get back to school. The initial separation was difficult at first, but we both adjusted pretty quickly. (I have to say, having all day free to work was amazing! I got so much done.) As the school year progressed, Hope's demeanor began to change. The kids seemed to really be getting to her. Her self-esteem seemed to diminish and she was either angry or sad most of the time. She was still excelling academically, but she disliked school in general and it was changing her. Where was this vibrant, interesting little girl we had known? It broke our hearts.
We took the entire summer after First Grade to evaluate our/her situation. Making such a major decision was so tough. I had questions like:
What will happen to her social skills? Will I be able to make the time for my business and school ? Am I making a huge mistake? It was scary. The whole first year of home schooling was
scary terrifying. We failed a lot. We learned a lot. We had to take a huge break when Poesy was born. It was so much to have business, baby, and home school. I am still figuring things out, honestly.
Having Hope at home for schooling has been amazing. She is more comfortable, confident, and out-going than ever. She talks to people like it was never an issue. She has more friends than ever before. We all know those "weird home school kids" and I was scared to death of making her one of those. Hope
is a little
different, but that is what makes her so great. She wears what she wants without worry of ridicule, she
loves to read and she isn't ashamed, she dances all crazy-like in public and doesn't care a lick about others watching. She lives in this confident, happy bubble that I'm glad to be a little part of. :) xoxo Katie
**I realize that home school is a touchy subject for a lot of people. I would NEVER suggest that home school is better than public school, or that home school is something that every parent should do. Every child is different, and this is what was and is right for my child. We are part of church groups, a home school group, and have friends with children, so she gets tons of time each week with other kids. We use a combination of the Sonlight core curriculum and some hodge-podge extras for more Math, Reading, Writing, and (extra, extra!) Science experiments.
**We'll be back soon with
10 Things I Love About Home School!
