We're homeschooling!
I am even more excited to write this now that we have officially received our letter from the county that we are
H O M E S C H O O L E R S !
It has been a long time coming to make this decision. First off let me just say, if you sent your kids back to school, good for you! If you are distance learning, good for you! If you took the plunge and are now a homeschooler, good for you! This pandemic has forced many families to make a hard decision, but at the end of the day only you know what’s best for you and your family!
With that being said, my daughter is entering the third grade for the 2020-2021 school year. A little back story: Jordan started preschool in DC and we stayed throughout her Kindergarten year. She thrived in the DC school system and we adored her teachers and the school. Her first and second grade school year we had moved to Virginia and she was now in the Virginia school system. We soon learned that Jordan was slowly falling behind and being left behind. The school system just kept pushing her forward even though she was not ready to move forward. Then comes the 2020 pandemic! In the last few months of school, she was distance learning which was mostly led by me. Her teacher did the best she could but nothing was monitored, nothing was graded. The school system was just going to push Jordan to the third grade and at that point, my heart couldn’t see my daughter continue to be left behind. So we decided to homeschool! I mean there’s no better time than now during a pandemic!
Let me just say, I do not take this new role as homeschool mama lightly. I have dived headfirst into the homeschooling realm and planned and read up on everything I could. I am still adapting and reading and learning to not only make this a great experience for her but for me as well. It’s only the first week of homeschool and I already see where I made some mistakes, areas I can improve, things we need to adjust, and what is working well.
Now even with it still being so early on, here’s why I’ve fallen in love with homeschooling. My daughter does not focus well in large group settings. Every teacher has told me how smart my daughter is and how well she thrives in small groups or in a one-on-one setting. However, public schools can’t give that to her. If she is behind, she gets left behind in hopes to catch up with the rest of the class. With homeschool, I can cater to my daughter’s individual learning style. If I see an area where my daughter is struggling, we can spend some more time until she is confident enough to move on. It allows us to learn at a slower pace that suits and interests her.
Now I’m sure there will be many homeschool updates on the blog and I am excited about this new journey my family is on; I’m excited to take you along the ride with us.
Love and light,
Jalesa