When I started homeschooling my daughter I didn't have a time line in mind. I didn't know what was going to happen. I knew this was the only option for her. One of the first things I did wrong was try to do school at home in the same format as was done in a bricks and mortar school. I also tried to get her sit down and work from books. This failed miserably. I had a toddler at home who was going through a lot of struggles and a traumatized seven year old who needed to NOT do school. If I could go back in time I would have given her a month off and then started by going on field trips and reporting about them and learning so SO differently than she had at school. Instead of reawakening her love of learning that she had previously had I just cemented in her how challenging and awful learning was. I also was impatient, unkind and just overwhelmed. This set the precedent of all the years of homeschooling and how my body feels in it.
My next child started kindergarten and had the most wonderful teacher. He was a very challenging child because he had an anxiety disorder but she did not allow him to ruffle her at all. She was always calm and kind and non reactionary. He ended up feeling very safe in her class and did as well as he could. However when it was time for grade one the school informed me he would not be allowed to attend without a teachers assistant. I had no idea how to go about obtaining a teachers assistant for a school and they offered no advice. So once again, I felt forced into homeschooling. Now I was homeschooling two children and had a baby.
I want to talk about something VERY important in this journey.
That is the kindness and goodness of God to me. When my daughter was at her very first school she had had this specific kind of brain testing done by a very kind elderly gentleman that the school brought in. He informed me that his wife was a homeschool teacher. When eventually my daughter did need to homeschool I called this lady and she became my homeschool teacher.
The way it works where I live is you can choose to homeschool two ways. One way is registering through a school and then doing everything on your own. No one ever checks up on you and no one knows what you are teaching your children or how. You have total freedom. The second option is enrolling through a distance learning school. This provides you with a teacher that you report to each week. You send her or him copies of your work, the school helps pay for your curriculum, and this teacher writes your children report cards. I have always chosen this option until just two years ago. It helps keep you accountable and also gives you that support when you need it. I have been blessed with amazing teachers. To be clear I do the homeschooling, the teaching at home, the teacher provided by the school is a support person.
Having this lady become my homeschooling teacher saved me. I wish however I would have listened to all her advice with a clear calm mind. My mind was so overwhelmed and much of the wisdom she shared with me at the time went over my head. Slowly through the years I learned from her and improved. This lady and her husband were a direct gift from God to me. They ended up transforming my families' future.
I will be forever grateful to Karen and Walter. Karen helped me for many years and I was so devastated when she retired. However God provided me with another wonderful teacher who has been so kind and caring as my children have gone through high school and graduated.
No comments:
Post a Comment