By choosing a loving environment without added peer pressure and comparisons, I can see my daughter thriving and willing to try a little more. While we are still working on regaining that joyful spirit that she lost last year, we are getting there. I’m seeing more smiles, hearing giggles and can see her eyes light up more often. (There is nothing like seeing that sparkle of joy in your child’s eyes.) As with anything, it’s taking time, but we’re making progress. Little bit by little bit. Read more about our struggles here.
Source: TopMastersInEducation.com
As a family who does schooling at home, I am often questioned about if I really think that it’s wise to keep my daughter away from the experiences she would have in a public school.
Truth be told, last year while she was in 1st grade, she came home most nights upset in some manner and often in tears. It was a very difficult year. Whether it was because someone was picking on her, the teacher went too fast on a new topic or she was bored in class, or for a million other reasons. She got in trouble once because she was helping a boy in her class. He didn’t understand so she was teaching him by giving him the answers.
I know my daughter is highly sensitive. She is very much like me that way. We take things to heart and often overanalyze, overthink, and can struggle when offered too many choices or are pressured. She was extremely advanced in reading – in fact, she was tested in 1st grade to be reading at between a 4th and 5th grade level. That explains so much of the boredom, but there were times when she struggled to get the concept in math and that brought on a great deal of frustration. She is very hard on herself. She expects perfection and if she’s concerned that she cannot reach it, she doesn’t even want to try. She’ll quit before she even starts.
It didn’t matter how great her teacher was. And both in Kindergarten and 1st grade were awesome! We were getting to the point where she hated school, she didn’t want to go, she didn’t want to learn, and she was no longer her happy, joyous self. She was becoming more and more stressed, emotional outbursts were becoming more frequent, and our family was stretching thin. I WAS DONE! With all that we went through during that school year, I decided it was time for drastic changes. It was time to try something completely different. I would not send her back to a public school this year! And it was the best decision I could have made for her.
Now don’t get me wrong, its not all sunshine and games. We definitely have our struggles. There are some days that are harder than others, but we have found a good routine and are progressing very nicely. In fact the hardest subject, math, has really come along. We slowed down, focused on the basics, and found different ways to find the solutions. Once the basics clicked for her – she has sped along at an amazing rate. It’s quite rewarding to see how simply showing different methods can make something that was once nearly impossible for her, something that she now understands. Would she have gotten that in a public school? Maybe. But it’s hard for teachers to give one-on-one direction in a classroom with nearly 30 students. When considering all her struggles – it wasn’t worth chancing.
Are you wondering if I made the right decision?
I know it may not be best for all families, but it definitely is for ours.Â
Check out these stats on how homeschoolers compare.
You may just learn something new yourself.
🙂
Current Temperature: -18°
Well, for those of you who are familiar with the temps we are enduring on this beautiful January day in Wisconsin, you know chilly is not the best term. Brrrrrrr…
So what do you do when you school at home? Especially when your daughter knows that all the schools in the area are closed and that other children do not have to have “school?”Â
You do some fun experiments!
OUTSIDE! 🙂
The first experiment we did was blowing bubbles. Most popped in the air leaving wisps of frozen soap floating to the ground. We got to watch some land and roll across the cement. Some even split so we could see them open and crumble.
The second was throwing a cup of hot water through the air to see what would happen.
After throwing a few cups, we were more than ready to come in for a warm cup of hot chocolate. We may head back out a little later and try throwing water again, this time using different temps of water to see the difference.
Do you have any fun experiments to try in the fridged cold?
We saw this simple experiment and decided to give it a try. It was a simple way to take a short break from packing, check out how colors blend, and watch how oil and water interact with each other.
It’s very simple and you likely have everything you need already in your home.
 Here’s what you need:
* A clear glass filled 3/4 of the way with water
* A small container with a little oil
* Different color food dyes
* A stir stick or spoon
1. In the oil, put a few drops of each color of food dye. We put 4-5 drops of each color.
2. Mix them together well.Â
3. Pour the oil/dye mixture into the water.
4. Watch what happens.
The oil and water will separate with the oil sitting on top. The food dye droplets will settle to the bottom of the oil and gradually break through to create streams of color in the water – similar to fireworks.
We were talking about primary and secondary colors in art. I had her point out the different colors and what they were.
We also discussed different liquids, their densities and that oils and waters do not mix together.
We did this a few different times to see what colors mix into what, watch the oil separate, as well as just watch the cool effect of the streamers of color fall through the water.
What kind of results did you get? We love to hear what you think!
As each day passes, I cannot help but be thankful for the K12 school and their curriculum. We are falling into a wonderful routine and are excited to incorporate our other activities that start this week.
Today we had science and did an experiment in measuring volume using a graduated cylinder. Aryanna had a great time measuring, pouring, reading, recording data, and just learning.
It is so great to be a part of what she was learning, walk through it with her and just be there to watch her grow. I just cannot get over how much she is capable of – so much more than I ever realized. And I likely would have never known had we not started this new experience of schooling at home.
Praising God for this blessed opportunity to really invest in my daughter!
School doesn’t ‘technically’ start for a couple weeks. Two weeks from today, actually.
We were so excited when we discovered that the classes were up yesterday and allowed us to start. We were thrilled to get started with this new endeavor and getting a jump start. So, we set everything else we had planned aside so we could check out the online learning system and really see how things were laid out. As her very busy mom, I loved that everything was set 
up with instructions and a well thought-out plan so I know exactly what we have to do each day, week, month, etc… I can see how it is going to be a great way to school my daughter at home this year.
Aryanna also had an amazing experience. She was thrilled with the online activities (all of which are learning games to reinforce what is being taught). She also has enjoyed the variety of classes and the flexibility of picking what she wants to do next. It is so exciting for 
me to see her so excited to learn!
We will see how things progress over the next several months, but one of my favorite quotes from her in the two short days that we’ve had together is this:
“Mom, I just love how much time we get to spend together learning.
It’s a lot of fun!”
I couldn’t have said it better myself!
Hope Nurtured 