It's mid-August and usually at this time of the year I would be spending most days in my classroom getting it ready for my new students. I would be planning lessons, organizing supplies, putting up posters, and making seating charts. I would be going over class lists and putting up little name tags on coat hooks and cubbies and tables. I would be tearing out workbook pages and writing names on them to get them ready for eager little hands holding brand new pencils.
But this year I am doing none of those things. This year I am spending my time in our basement setting up a very different kind of classroom. This year I will be homeschooling Josh and Adam. They are enrolled in the Idaho Virtual Academy. I am at once excited and hesitant about the prospect of homeschooling. It is wonderful (and challenging) to teach my own kids. I had them both in my kindergarten class. And I really am looking forward to doing the IDVA curriculum with them. It is a great program that provides families with all the supplies they need to homeschool. But I also know myself and my children. Josh is very smart and will be able to do much of the work on his own, but he is also stubborn and wants to do things his way or no way. Adam is above grade level, too, but can be silly beyond imagination and would often rather play than work.
We talked about this last spring when I asked them if they would like to be homeschooled. They were all for it. Josh said that he would be able to get his work done so much faster if there weren't so many other classmates talking around him. (I did not point out that he was the one doing much of the talking in class.) And Adam said that he wanted to homeschool so that he could be home with me and the baby. (This was before she was born and he still feels the same way about her.) So I talked to them about their issues and made sure that they realized that it would still be school and they would still have to do work just like always. They assured me that they would do what they were supposed to.
So that brings things to me. Now it's up to me to make sure that they have everything they need to succeed in this new endeavor. I have to combine all my mommy knowledge and all my teacher knowledge to give them the best education I can. I have to balance everything that mommies do at home while also teaching my children several hours a day. I have to be consistent to make sure that the boys learn what they are supposed to in school and what they are supposed to about life. And I have to do all this while taking care of their 2 1/2 month old sister.
I have a feeling that I just may be the one learning the most this year.
3 comments:
I think you're going to be fabulous at this, Jen. I can hardly wait to hear tales of your adventures! (And thanks for the impromptu list of things I should be doing right now! LOL!)
My husband (who works at HSLDA) probably talks to 50 homeschool moms a week who are worried about getting everything done perfectly and measuring up to what they're supposed to be. Be encouraged that there is room for you to be human, to do school your way, to have a schedule that works for you, and to give it the best that you've got. There is no ONE RIGHT WAY to homeschool your kids. Have a blast!
I have a lot more advice to give than can fit in one little comment box.
Of course, as is my experience, most people don't necessarily want ALL of my advice. :)
But I'm happy to answer questions about IDVA. We're starting our third year with my son (5th grade) and first year with my daughter (2nd grade). I'm anxious to see how it works with two at home. I'm kind of counting on my son to be more of a self-starter than in years past. We'll see.
Anyway, email me, or I'll see you at an IDVA event soon.
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