When I started this blog, I was a mama of three, homeschooling one and struggling to keep my head above water. Then, along the way, I became a mama of four, and added one more to our school. Add some health problems to that and a child that needs a special diet, and things got very complicated. It’s no wonder that I haven’t posted anything in so long.
This past year has been one of big changes. It started when we decided to leave our church in favor of a smaller one. We started attending OneLife, and knew from the moment we walked in that it was the church for us. At the time, it was a 2-year-old church plant, and in the year and a half we’ve been there, we’ve seen it grow in many tangible and intangible ways. It is the tight-knit community that we were looking for.
Our next big change was that we decided to enroll our oldest three kids in public school. And the surprising thing was, as much as I denied that my identity was wrapped up in homeschooling, when it was over, I found that it was after all. I had shelves of school books that I just couldn’t bring myself to sell or put away. I cried when I dropped my oldest off at her class on the first day, because she was the one I had molded and taught for 4 years. Everything she knew was from me. I was letting go.
School has been a good experience for them. Not perfect, but neither was homeschooling. One son was having difficulty learning to read and needed speech therapy. I was worried that there was some sort of disability there. But he has jumped 2 grade levels in reading in the first semester, and I am so proud of him. My kindergartener is learning how to sit still and listen to instructions. I am able to be nurturing mother to him when he comes home, and I can leave the school disciplinarian role to his teacher. Our relationship has improved dramatically. The oldest is in the choir and art club, both of which I was unable to provide at home. All of my kids are able to get ready and get out the door in a timely manner (which was something that really got under my skin before). Of course, they are also learning some “non-academic” things which I would rather they not, but we’re able to walk through it with them in “teaching moments.”
Now I have a little more time to do the things I need to do, and a few of the things I want to do. I am in a much better place because I’m able to get some alone-time during the day. The toddler takes a lot of energy, but she does still take naps, thank goodness! Like I said before, we are just going year by year. We may decide that one or all of the kids need to come home again, but for now, we are happy and thankful for a good local school.
