Why did I decide to homeschool my fourth child if I didn't like homeschooling? Maybe I am a glutton for punishment? My fourth child has struggled with emotional regulation like my oldest son. If I had put him in school he may have needed an assistant. He also begged to stay home. He has never wanted to attend a school. He has a completely different brain than my three oldest children. He learned to read at age five and has no troubles with it. He also is quick with Math comprehension. He is also now eleven and would rather play and create. This year I put him in a three hour English class.
You know how God always gets me through? Well He did it again.
I was SO burnt out after homeschooling five children with a very needy baby last year. I wanted to put my two youngest in school in the worst way. I was exhausted and felt like homeschool was this vice in my chest. However they did not want to go. I knew that it would be a terrible and probably traumatic fight to get my eleven year old to attend school and that it was not worth it for me. I also knew that I would have to get lunches ready for all three kids and drive them to three different schools. That felt daunting. I felt trapped. What was I to do!
I saw online that there was an English class being offered for homeschoolers only for his grade for a very reasonable price and I signed him up. He said he would not go. He said he would hate me forever if I made him go. He ran away from the first class causing all sorts of drama. For September, October and November I sat outside the classroom door and supported him. Now it is the end of December and he went to his last two classes totally independently with no anxiety or issues. He has a phenomenal teacher. He also has a tutor he goes to once a week. I don't know if I will homeschool him until graduation. I would rather not. However we shall see how things go. He is learning a lot this year. He is the first child I decided not to enrol in a school. This took a lot of pressure off of me. The rule where I live is that the child only needs to be enrolled through grades ten to twelve in order to graduate with a regular diploma. I may enroll him in grade eight but right now the set up we have it great and a lot less pressure on me.
He is a really social and a competitive child and I think he could thrive in school if he could manage his anxiety. We shall see how the years progress. He has enjoyed being in homeschool soccer and taking art classes. He loves to learn when it's presented in a way that engages his brain :) and don't we all.
He is in grade six this year and I am homeschooling my little six year old. She is doing well. However I would love for her to be in some sort of co op or something that she can meet other children her age in. I hope I can add that into next year.
Each year I have had to reconfigure, find support, or go it alone, and each year has been totally different. Each child is so vastly unique. There have been no easy years for me but there have been years of triumph. The year that my oldest son learned to read, or the year he did three grades of Math in one year? Triumph. The year my oldest graduated with honors? Triumph. This year my grade ten daughter is doing a lot of her work on her own. It was not long ago I read everything to her and wrote or typed all her work for her. The fact that she is working independently feels miraculous :)
Triumph
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