Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash
I Homeschool My Kid.
Here’s How (And Why) We Took The Plunge
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
I never thought that I would homeschool my kid, but here we are.
Three years ago, I was counting down the days until my little one would start Kindergarten.
I viewed this as an exciting time where my child would learn, make friends, and gain similar experiences that I’d had growing up.
I also knew that the burden of childcare would be lifted off my shoulders for six hours a day, which would allow me to jump back into my career and reclaim a sense of my own individuality.
The reality — as it turned out — was that none of that was meant to be.
Facing Challenges
Even despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, we still enrolled our kiddo into public school.
We picked out a backpack, bought all new clothes, and took all the “first day” photos; we were all so happy.
Very quickly though, we could tell that things were not right.
Being Different
I suspected long ago that my kid might have ADHD, and before summer, our kiddo was medically diagnosed with combined ADHD.
Aware that this might be a problem, we arranged a conference with his new teacher. She made us believe that she fully understood what that meant.
She also made us believe that she would use the agreed upon anti-escalation techniques — things like asking, “How does that make you feel”, and calmly repeating instructions as needed — should there ever be a problem.
Spoiler alert: It was all a lie.
Dark Times
Within the first week, our kiddo’s newly licensed teacher began to escort our child to us by the hand telling us how “bad” he was. She did this in full view of all the other parents at pick-up. We endured this every single day — without fail.
Can you imagine what that does to a 5 year-old’s self esteem?
Later, I would watch her yell at my kid telling him how “bad” he was after he was attacked by another child while standing in line. I saw with my own eyes that my kiddo had neither spoken to nor touched anyone, yet she still punished him.
By week three we were in the Vice Principal’s office. Again we were promised that things would get better, that things would change — they didn’t.
After four months of torture and emotional abuse just for being different, we pulled our child from public school, and it was the best decision we could have ever made.
Staying Ahead of the Game
Another big reason we felt uncomfortable with letting our child continue in public school, was that we felt — at least in our situation— that it was a complete waste of time.
For example, our kiddo was already reading early chapter books before the first day of school. Yet, by month four his class had only just begun to read three letter CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words.
Public Kindergarten was not challenging him in any way, shape, or form. He was not learning anything new at all.
But, that’s not the case at home. Homeschooling allows us to teach at his level and pace, so he is always learning something new.
Choosing a Curriculum & Resources
Being new to homeschooling, I was really overwhelmed.
Even though I’d dabbled in phonics while teaching my kiddo to read, actually trying to organize and teach on multiple subjects was a whole new ballgame.
I decided that instead of trying to create my own curriculum from scratch, I should look for one that was created by someone that actually knows what they are doing.
As it turns out, there are so many to choose from! I’m not gonna lie, this was a little overwhelming as well.
Core Curriculum
I eventually decided that I would pick a “core” curriculum (main curriculum) and then supplement with additional resources as needed.
An online core curriculum is was worked best for our family, and for our first year we decided to go with Time4Learning.
There are many other core curriculum choices available and I may change or alternate what we use as time goes on, but right now this is what fits best for our family.
Supplemental Resources
Workbooks and manipulatives are some of my favorite supplemental resources to use in lesson planning too.
School Zone, Spectrum by Carson Dellosa, and Evan Moore workbooks are some of my go to supplements.
Though, there really is no limit to what you can add into your lessons. The freedom to choose your own resources is truly limitless, and that’s just another reason our family loves to homeschool.
Enjoying Flexibility
My family shouldn’t have had to give up our freedom so that our kiddo could go to school. Though, that’s exactly what happened.
Prior to starting public school, were were able to take vacations where we wanted, when we wanted. Heck, we were even able to just go to a matinee at the movies with our kids during a weekday.
However, once our kiddo started public school, that all stopped. We were required to follow the school administration’s schedule.
It didn’t sit well with me that actual strangers had so much power to control when I (an adult) woke up, went to bed, and if I could take a vacation with my family or not.
Homeschooling gave that power back to my family — where it belongs.
Now we have the freedom and flexibility to live independently and choose our own schedules, and I look forward to the countless adventures my family will have because of this.
Embracing Family Time
Of all the reasons to start homeschooling, I did not consider spending more time with my family to be one.
However, as time went on and I got to see how bright my little one is, I started to realize what a treasure it was.
You hear it all the time, “The years are short” or “Blink and you’ll miss.”
It’s really true. This time with my kids is going fast and I’m so happy that I get to maximize the amount of time that I spend with them.
I’m so happy that I get to make these memories with them.
Oh Hey, It’s Ray is a real estate investor, entrepreneur, and former real estate agent. She lives happily with her husband and two children in the Pacific Northwest. See more from Ray at her YouTube channel and on Ohheyitsray.com