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Thursday, March 4, 2010

Homeschooling this Fall


With the support of my husband, we have decided to homeschool starting this Fall! This is something I wanted to do last year but my husband and I were not seeing eye to eye on the idea so I decided to put the kids in a half-day Montessori program and see how things went with my work and teaching them part-time at home. The kids school day is from 8:30-11:30am. I spend almost as much time driving them to school as they are in school! My husband cannot help with driving because of his non-flexible work schedule. I am on the road 2 hours a day and they are in school for 3 hours a day.


Fall 2010 I was going to have to put both kids in school all day because sweet boy would be starting first grade and even though I know Bella is not ready for all day, I was going to have to do it OR be on the road 4 hours a day with a baby. Well, this stressed me out and kept me awake at night. I was getting stressed out about Bella being in school all day, sweet boy being away all day, both kids not spending enough time with their baby brother, me driving so much with the baby, and not having enough family time.

Up to about a month ago, my husband was not supportive of me homeschooling because I work. It is work from home but it is still work. I completely understood his point. He does not want me to be overwhelmed.


So what changed his mind? Well, I am always e-mailing him articles about homeschooling and talking to him about the benefits. As I was reading the book “The Homeschooling Option” by Lisa Rivero this month, my husband came home one day talking about an ex-student of his, who had babysat for us, who went by his school to visit. He mentioned to her that I wanted to homeschool and she told him all about the great homeschool students she was attending college with. So he said that we should try it! WOW, you have no idea how excited I was.


My plan is to continue with the kids Montessori education at home. I’ve been spending a lot time for the past two weeks reading, figuring out where the kids are in their learning so I know where to start and I’ve began to make materials. I am also looking into our homeschooling Co-ops. My community is a HUGE homeschooling community so we have a big support group, co-ops, and families who get together weekly for field trips and playgroups.


It is amazing how at peace I am now, much happier, and productive!

15 comments:

Kathy said...

Congrats! This takes courage and
alot of planning. I am sure with
all your great ideas you will do great!
Kathy
www.kathysmontessorilife.blogspot.com

Karen said...

Yeeeeaaaa!!! Felicidades en tu decision y en tu nuevo andar!!!! Gigi!. Como te dije antes, Cuando el Señor pone un sueño o un deseo en tu corazón es por que SABE que tu tienes TODO LO QUE SE NECESITA para hacerlo!!!! Ha sido una gran decisión!! Y estoy super SEGURA que te irá ESPECTACULAR!! Adelante amiguis y gracias por ser UNA INSPIRACION para muchas de nosotras!!!

Adriana said...

I am SO happy for you!! Now you can infuse more Spanish into their education! I couldn't remember if I told you that I am going to stop teaching after this year and start homeschooling the boys too! My husband is finally on board now. Please let me know what homeschooling co-op you decide on. I have been looking around and it looks like their are a lot of options. If you want to get together for any Spanish field trips (zoo, museum, etc.) let me know! :)

Evelyn / 2 Pequenos Traviesos said...

Congratulations mommy! The same thing happened to me when I started homeschooling. The only differences are 1 less baby and that I used to have a 3-hr drive to get Yann to school with my 3 mo. You made the best decision not putting your kids and BABY through this. This long drive would be really bad for his development. I'm sooo happy for you!!!
Abrazos,
Evelyn

Anonymous said...

Felicitaciones!
I am the mom of a baby and a toddler. I will be sending her to preschool this Fall but the idea of homeschooling is more appealing to me everyday. I look forward to hearing how it goes!

Aly in Va said...

I'm so happy for you. It's wonderful your husband has come around and understand the benefits of you being their teacher. Now, if I pass along my phone number- can you have your husband call mine :) I'm also a teacher who would rather focus on my own kiddos than the neighborhood ones.

Montessori en el hogar said...

Felicidades! Es una muy buena desición. Te deseo lo mejor.

Evenspor said...

How exciting! That will be fun.

Gigi said...

Thank you Kathy! Yes, it does require a lot of planning. It is a good thing I enjoy to plan!! It must be the teacher in me!

Karen, mi amigita, gracias por tu apollo. You inspire me with your positive attitude and faith.

Adriana, I will e-mail you about the Co-ops I'm going to visit. The kids have made such great progress with their Spanish that it has definitely made me excited to know that they will be hearing me speak to them in Spanish so much more while homeschooling.

Evelyn, I did not even think about the development of the baby while in the car. OH MY, you are so RIGHT. Strapping a baby in a car seat 10 hours a week cannot be good. I am the type to let my babies run around free (no play pens, walkers, etc..). I was thinking about nursing and nap times. I'm so glad you told me this other positive reason.

unpedacitodemadre - thank you. I tried pre-school with my son for 2 years!

Aly in Va - I am going to write a post about my husband. This was not an easy task specially since he is a teacher in a public high school! Also, before I agreed I had stipulations!! Like: be positive when I am not, he must not forget to be supportive, must never tell me "I told you so"!

Montessori En el Hogar - I will be reading your blog in details as sweet boy begins the elementary years in Montessori!

Evenspor - Thank you! I think it WILL be fun and the kids will really enjoy it.

Lisa Rivero said...

Welcome to homeschooling! I worked part-time at home for most of our years of homeschooling. It's a bit of a challenge, but, as you wrote, juggling schools is also a challenge. :) Our son is now a college freshman, and our ten years of homeschooling are full of some of our best family memories.

Gigi said...

Thank you for the comment Lisa. I LOVED your book. It was the first homeschooling book I had read that did not make me feel guilty if I did NOT choose homeschooling! I also liked what you said about homeschooling just because you want to or it felt right. I did not have some great excuse like money, religion, bad school, etc... I just want to learn with my kids and be part of their education!

I actually read every word you wrote in less than two weeks, which is an accomplishment with kids!!

Mama to 5 said...

that's wonderful! What a great decision! 1st time visiting your blog. We are all about montessori & we are just now starting to learn Spanish in our home! Great blog! I invite you to come visit my homeschool blog! :)

Leptir (Nataša) said...

Hi Gigi! Congrats on your decision :-)
If you want hop over to my blog, I've tagged you here:
http://leptir-mojpribor.blogspot.com/2010/03/sest-stvari-o-meni.html
Scroll to the end of the post :-)
You can write six things about you on your blog too.

Hugs

Gaby said...

Congrats Gigi!! You sound so happy, this is what is best!

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