Homeschool Updates

We are a couple months into our second year of school from home and so far, everything is going smoothly. Third grade is certainly very different from second grade. The work load has been a lot more and it can been very tiring some days. I find myself telling William to go take a break while I do the same. I am lucky to have a child who almost never complains and is easy to work with. We have a flexible routine that has been working well for us. 

I make certain every couple weeks to ask William how he is doing and if he misses going to traditional school. He always responds with how much he loves home school and never wants to return to public school. This makes me happy to know that he is genuinely happy and feeling like this was a good choice for him. 

One of his new favorite things to do is to go outside and read while he watches the birds and dogs play. Hey, anything that encourages him to read works for me! As a matter of fact, his reading has improved tremendously and we are working on being more animated when reading out loud. He still has his stubborn boy moments, but he understands that he has no choice with getting his work done. He takes pride in checking off assignments as he completes them, and loves tracking his grades.

A lot has changed for me as a homemaker. A huge chunk of my day is dedicated to William's schooling, so keeping a super neat and tidy home just isn't a priority like it used to be. I try to get things done throughout the day, but don't beat myself up if I don't get to it all. I make time for myself each day just to do whatever I want, whether it's watching my favorite show on HGTV or taking a nap. I have learned the importance of self-care and refuse to allow myself to feel guilty about it. Do I have bad days where I feel like I'm failing? YES. Yes, I do. Thankfully those aren't too often.

William continues to go to his karate classes and swimming. It's funny how much more social he is since doing school from home. He is not shy at all and will chat with anyone who will listen. We still get a lot of people when we are out and about during school hours ask him why he's not in school. He proudly tells them, "I'm home-schooled!". Of course, some people are still very shocked by that and tell me I must be a "saint". I simply laugh it off and realize I too thought the same of parents who home-schooled their kids.

Right about now I am SO happy that I'm not on Facebook trying to push school fundraisers on any of my friends. Yep, don't miss any of that! Overall, we are very happy with school and plan to continue all the way to high school. If you have ever considered homeschooling your child, I suggest you try it out to see if it works for your family. You definitely won't know unless you try. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!