#BainFamilyHomeschoolChronicles – Here we go again! If you didn’t catch my homeschool announcement, you can check it out here.
For those of you following our journey from traditional school to homeschool… here is my attempt at an update after 2 weeks. In my humble opinion it’s something I would call PURE SUCCESS.
Pretty confident out of the gate…I know. But, hands down this has been straight up good. Check out our Week 1 video…
THE DECISION
At the time I decided to transition my kids out of traditional school into a homeschool setting, I was tired. Plain and simple, as a family unit we all needed to switch gears and get back in-sync with the things we valued. For those of you just joining this journey, you would no doubt have sensed my frustration with late nights of homework and hellish mornings of getting 5 kids out the door in previous blogs. We were all drained of having a nonstop, on the go, jammed packed schedule that left little room for freedom to just be a family. Is that the school’s, teacher’s or curriculum’s fault? No way!
Honestly, it was what was best for our family in this season.
Having 5 kids ranging from 2 years old to 5th grade and juggling the demands of 5th grade curriculum down to the needs of a 2 year old can be quite grueling. Can I get an amen from any mamas out there? You know what I’m talking about…wiping butts and trying to assist my oldest at the same time, all while refreshing my memory on a math formula from ages past. Meanwhile, I’m also prepping dinner and making sure people took a shower sometime in the last month.
You have to understand where I’m coming from…
I don’t always believe that the way that everyone else does things is necessarily the right way FOR OUR FAMILY. The more I thought about my daily routine, the more I wondered why in the hell we were living this way. It made zero sense to me. It added stress to everyone and I figured there had to be a better way. I want my kids to have an advantage in life just as much as anyone else, but I don’t want them to believe that everything has to be stress and work to have success. That’s not how I achieved success, that’s not how my husband achieved success, and that’s simply not the life example I want to set for my children.
THE FIRST DAY
The first day was amazing…even though it wasn’t perfect and I was still trying to figure things out. The kids were enthusiastic and patient as we worked through the day. I had a brand new curriculum for them, but I had to work through the chapters during the first week to see exactly what the needs and struggles were for each child. By Monday of Week 2, I felt like we all had it figured out.
I spent a couple of hours on the weekend, planning the week ahead and even supplemented educational videos I found on YouTube to go along with their lessons. My favorite part about this aspect is that the little kids get to learn with the big kids. I find content that they can all enjoy watching together. It’s kind of fun to break up the day with a video on mitosis.
I was able to experience the joy of one of my kids exclaim “Oh, I get it now!” and another giggle and say “Science is awesome!” I know what my kids are learning, I’m learning with them and I get to take what they are learning and apply it to our lives wherever we are. It’s amazing! When dad gets home, we can talk about the lessons and experiments together and I’m able to keep the conversation exciting because I was there!
Two years ago I would have said very adamantly that there is no way I could homeschool. I would have noted the personality clashes and stubbornness of the little ones. I would have pointed out my fears of not understanding specific concepts… like this week when my son wanted to know more about mitosis and meiosis. He wanted to understand the difference. I didn’t know how to explain it, but we found a perfect explanation thanks to Kahn Academy and YouTube! When my 7 year old was doing a math problem online and didn’t understand it, with the click of a button a virtual teacher drew out the explanation. My point is… all the fears I had were completely irrational.
The peace in our home is amazing! We don’t start our days with wars over lost shoes, half eaten breakfast, and debates over wearing shorts when there is snow outside. Our day starts with smiles and morning prayers… by 9:15 we are gathered around the table saying prayers together. They all participate and they rush to get to the table because they don’t want to miss it. It makes me catch my breath with pride just to type this all out.
Just a few short weeks ago I was sitting in a therapist’s office completely overwhelmed and at the end of my rope with anxiety. Deep down I knew what the problem was and I knew I had the power to turn it around. I’m giving 100% credit to God, but I also have to say thank you to Mel Robbins and her book The 5 Second Rule.
I told my therapist to read it and use it with her clients. I’ll save that story for the next blog. I’m a little surprised that I’m sharing it but I told myself when I was going through it, that when I did get out of my funk, I was going to share with others how I did it and why I knew I had it within me to change myself!
Thanks for reading and following along on this journey. I know my page is health and fitness, but health and and fitness are so much more than lifting weights and drinking shakes. Sometimes we have to get our mind & home right to make the most of the actual physical part. Can I get an amen?
I appreciate you! Until next time…
xoxo Rebekah
Print this and keep it for the less perfect days. Glad your stress has decreased…huge blessing!