On quitting homeschooling
It's been official for a month now. We've quit homeschooling and have enrolled both of our boys into school.
It has been a decision brewing for some time now, and after exploring lots of 'band-aid' solutions -- hiring help with the housework, rejigging Patrick's work schedule to pitch in more, afternoons 'off' for mom, screen time, no screen time, co-ops both run by me and run by someone else -- it was obvious that it wasn't working.
We are very blessed because our particular school is quite small, has exceptional teachers, and a distinctly Catholic identity. While it's not perfect, and I'm sure the ideological anti-school naysayers would be quick to point that out, neither was our homeschooling experience. In fact, it was far from perfect. I felt constantly overburdened and anxious, the kids were under-stimulated or at least under-structured; in short, it didn't work for us.
But the good news is...
They now bound out of bed excitedly to get ready for their school day.
They are making new friends and come home excited to tell me about their adventures for the day,
They are learning new things that I would have never thought to teach them, or at least would never have had the time to (for example, Noah plays chess on a regular basis, they both get to go snowshoeing during 'gym class').
It's been one of the best things we've ever done for our family, besides having our actual children.
When I took this picture, I got so choked up. It reminded me of that saying that motherhood is like having your heart walking outside your body. I had never really felt the weight of that saying until their first day of school, because it was the first time I was sending my children, my heart-outside-my-body, into a new place for a whole day and without me. They were walking away from me into a world I can't, and shouldn't, try to control. A quick montage flew through my mind flying from their first day of school -- just grade one and junior kindergarten, for crying out loud -- to them in high school, learning to drive a car and all the freedom that means for them and the continuous process of letting them grow into their very own people, with my guidance, but separate from me.
Don't get me wrong, their first day of school was NOT an emotional day for them. They gleefully trotted off onto the playground when they saw a few kids they recognized and didn't even turn around to wave goodbye to me and Patrick. We arrived a bit early to pick them up, to make sure everything went alright, and were amazed at what encouraging things the teachers said. And what encouraging things they continue to say.
I am so very happy for both of them.
It has been a decision brewing for some time now, and after exploring lots of 'band-aid' solutions -- hiring help with the housework, rejigging Patrick's work schedule to pitch in more, afternoons 'off' for mom, screen time, no screen time, co-ops both run by me and run by someone else -- it was obvious that it wasn't working.
We are very blessed because our particular school is quite small, has exceptional teachers, and a distinctly Catholic identity. While it's not perfect, and I'm sure the ideological anti-school naysayers would be quick to point that out, neither was our homeschooling experience. In fact, it was far from perfect. I felt constantly overburdened and anxious, the kids were under-stimulated or at least under-structured; in short, it didn't work for us.
But the good news is...
They now bound out of bed excitedly to get ready for their school day.
They are making new friends and come home excited to tell me about their adventures for the day,
They are learning new things that I would have never thought to teach them, or at least would never have had the time to (for example, Noah plays chess on a regular basis, they both get to go snowshoeing during 'gym class').
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From their first day of school -- the busses were cancelled because of the insane amount of snow. How many kids get to say they had a snow day on their first day of school? |
When I took this picture, I got so choked up. It reminded me of that saying that motherhood is like having your heart walking outside your body. I had never really felt the weight of that saying until their first day of school, because it was the first time I was sending my children, my heart-outside-my-body, into a new place for a whole day and without me. They were walking away from me into a world I can't, and shouldn't, try to control. A quick montage flew through my mind flying from their first day of school -- just grade one and junior kindergarten, for crying out loud -- to them in high school, learning to drive a car and all the freedom that means for them and the continuous process of letting them grow into their very own people, with my guidance, but separate from me.
Don't get me wrong, their first day of school was NOT an emotional day for them. They gleefully trotted off onto the playground when they saw a few kids they recognized and didn't even turn around to wave goodbye to me and Patrick. We arrived a bit early to pick them up, to make sure everything went alright, and were amazed at what encouraging things the teachers said. And what encouraging things they continue to say.
I am so very happy for both of them.
Good for you on knowing when to call it quits! So glad they are thriving and enjoying their new school! I'm kind of in the same boat with homeschooling here - teaching the girls and occupying the boys is more than exhausting. But our options for schools here are so limited I'm not sure what we will do except keep on plugging along!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post. We are indeed so very blessed by our local school. I loved the line about school being the best decision for your family outside of having children: real humility.
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