Yes, you read that right! Quite a few years ago, my oldest boy just wasn’t doing well in the public school system and around Thanksgiving we gave it up. We pulled him out and started homeschooling him. It changed his enter personality back into the little boy that I was in love with. For 3 years, we homeschooled him and watched him “re-blossom” into a fabulous guy. Then, he decided that he wanted to go back to “regular school” for middle school, so we sent him back. Now, I am watching my little guy crumble into a ghost of the bright fella he was thanks to going through some of the same junk that my oldest boy did. It has been a very miserable couple weeks! Finally, I said to my husband, “ENOUGH! I refuse for him to go through all the mess that Tripp did!” So, on Friday I officially withdrew him from the system. I am not sure if he is in it for the long-haul or if he will be going back next year. So, I am sticking to the public school “must-know” schedule.
However, haven’t even started schooling him yet and am already finding that he missed quite a bit of stuff the past 3 years of school! So, while the plan is for him to stay on track to re-enter public school at any time, I am having to reteach stuff that he should have learned in 2nd grade and 1st grade!
But, let’s be honest – I am kind of excited. Scared, but excited. My blog is a full-time job these days and now I have to find several hours a day to school my child without letting the blog or the education fall behind. Yes, that makes me terrified! Thank goodness I am a very organized kind of person. So, once I get the plan ready, it should all flow pretty well! But, I LOVE teaching my kids. I love to see the joy on their little faces when they grasp a concept. I love spending time with them and nurturing their minds. SO, yes, I am excited.!
Over the next 9-10 months, I am planning to share what we are doing. I am not sure if it will be a weekly post or a monthly post or if it will just be a post when I want. But, it is coming! 🙂
For the month of September, we are going to be trying to cover the things he should have learned in 1st and 2nd grades that he missed out on. We will also be reinforcing the things he does seem to know.
So, we are doing things like: learning to tell time, tell temperatures, read maps, improve reading fluency – we are also going to have a quick overview of the muscles and skeletal system because he likes blood and gore. 🙂
Please leave me any comments you have about your favorite sites for homeschooling curriculum, printables, lesson plans, etc! I can also use some encouragement!
Ebony
Tuesday 16th of December 2014
I'm seriously considering homeschooling for my daughter. She is currently in 3rd grade and she is miserable and has asked to be homeschooled. She states she doesn't get her questions answered in class and is tired of being bullied at school. I see the self esteem dropping and it breaks my heart to see her cry about school at night. I currently work full-time outside of the home, but hopefully I can find a job where I can work from home and homeschool.
Pam
Friday 10th of October 2014
We're homeschooling for the first time this year and, like you, I feel like I have my sweet, funny, creative boy back for the first time in two years. Middle school had just crushed that out of him, and he went from being a solid A/B student to a struggling C/D student last year. I knew his personality was changing but I didn't realize how much until we removed the stress of public school. It brings me to tears when I compare how he is now to how he was at the end of the last school year. He LOVES homeschooling and I'm actively looking for ways to keep him engaged. He has a lot of interests but doesn't necessarily want to study them, so for right now he's still pretty Mom-directed. Looking forward to helping him become more self-directed as we go along.
Connie
Wednesday 8th of October 2014
Hi Kelli, I'm enjoying your blog and just read this post. I'm in a similar situation as I'm homeschooling my son, grade 2, and daughter, grade 3, this is their first year homeschooling (public school before this). I've also noticed that I have to teach my son skills that he should already know especially to do with phonics. There are so many resources out there. So far, one of my favourite sites is by a homeschool mom, with a focus on art: http://www.hodgepodge.me/ Thank you for your blog. Connie
Tulip
Tuesday 16th of September 2014
So excited for you Kelli! Sounds like you are such a good mama to your boys. It is so easy to just let the school take them and keep on grinding on them like most people do. Thanks for sharing your heart and life with us!
Kelli Miller
Sunday 21st of September 2014
Thanks so much for your sweet words, Tulip! We are having a blast, but then I knew we would once we got over the initial shock. LOL!
Erika @ Slowly Natural
Monday 15th of September 2014
I love homeschooling!
Kelli Miller
Sunday 21st of September 2014
I do, too, but Tank is HARD! He takes so much one-on-one time - like 100% of it. He can't even read quietly by himself because he has to share everything he learns with me. It is fun, but makes it hard for me to work. :-)