As of today, we have unofficially been homeschooling two weeks. It was nothing dramatic. Not a lot of fanfare. Just finally following a conviction we've had for quite some time that public school wasn't going to be a long-term choice for our family.
Last year, the Vikings faced challenges beyond the usual. I won't go into too much detail here. Most people who know us well know how bad it got.
But, the changes are already apparent: better behavior from the Vikings, a calmer household, less anxiety in general, improved sleeping issues. There are still acting-out issues as we deal with their anger and frustration in everyday situations but, overall, we are happy with the last 7 weeks of summer.
After many years of casual research, we knew the rookie year would bring many challenges despite my teacher training. So, in the interest of creating a as-successful-as-possible first year, we are starting early so we can take our time and we made the decision to invest significant money in a school-in-a-box, everything-included program. We picked the literature-rich program from Sonlight. With their materials, we will be doing grade-level-specific language arts and math while doing Bible, social studies, and science as a team. Every daily lesson is planned out for 36 weeks so all 180 days are laid down ready for us to walk through it.
Come to find out there are few states easier to homeschool than Illinois. At this point in time, there is little to no accountibility to anyone outside the family unit. We are not required to notify anyone, to report to anyone, or to submit any paperwork.
However, this area is starting to gear back up for school which starts in 3 weeks. So, as a courtesy and to avoid any possible truancy issues with the Vikings' former school, I'm submitting a letter of withdraw this week. And, for some reason, it's causing me some anxiety.
It's the final step. The last straw. The end of their responsibility and the beginning of ours. And, while buying and paying for a 80+lb box of curriculum didn't phase me much, this step does for some reason.
So, I've spent a lot of time praying, comtemplating, thinking, planning, and revising while the changes begin.
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1 comment:
Beth, I remember when I sent my letter of intent last year I was a nervous wreck even though it was no big deal. If you haven't already, I think you should join a homeschool support group/co-op. You will feel so much better being with people who have already done what you're doing in your state. And of course, join the HSLDA if you haven't yet.
For our first year, we did Sonlight too and for exactly the same reasons you're using it. I like the curriculum very much, but found that my must-check-every-box personality kept me from making some changes that would have made it better for my particular children. If you find something in the curriculum that doesn't work for you, or if you just can't fit everything in without getting stressed, just skip what doesn't work.
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