Tuesday, September 6, 2011

From Homeschool to Public School!



I didn't CRY!!!! LOL I totally thought I would cry when my little girl, I mean big girl, put on her hello kitty back pack and walked out to the car with her dad. She was walking away from the only schooling she knew. For 3 years I have homeschooled my daughter. I have a love/hate relationship with homeschooling. I'm not the most patient person and Abby was the type that wanted you to sit by her side and watch her do her work.  Which was fine when she was the only child but since I now have two little ones to take care of I could no longer just sit with her. It was always a struggle to balance her homeschooling, taking care of the little ones and cook before my husband came home for lunch. We had our good days and we had our bad days. Abby is such a perfectionist. She can't stand for things to look sloppy but at the same time she wants to hurry and get done. She easily gets distracted because we have the t.v. going or the kids are wanting help with something. I would have to constantly get on her. I felt like our relationship was being stunted because of homeshooling. Are we close as mother and daughter? Yes, very close. But I don't want Abby hating school because she loves learning. I didn't want to be annoyed with her because she wants to do something with me after school was over with, "I just sat with you all morning, teaching you, helping you. No I don't want to do something together." Sounds awful right? But that's how it is. I have a lot of respect for mothers that can not just homeschool but be patient and loving and consistent with it.  In addition, a mother that homeschools and still participates and interact with their kids. I also had a lot of guilt because while I was devoting so much attention to teaching Abby, I was ignoring Ellie and Joey. I would send Joey to watch tv, and I would put Ellie to bed 2 hours after she woke up. I feel like one of the reasons Abby is so bright, is because when she was her siblings age, we did everything together. We had fun, we explored! I want that same interaction for my two little ones. So while Abby is at school I am going to focus on playing and teaching my two little ones. What I am most excited about is when Abby comes HOME from school! I want to hear all about her day. I want to know what she learned and I want to help her with her homework. I will be volunteering every other Friday in her class. I think Abby is going to love school. She is going to make good friends, and be challenged by other students academically! I'm just so excited for her. I'm praying it will be a great year for her.

2 comments:

Sherry said...

Oh, she looks great and is just going to love school Esther. So happy for you. I know what you mean about it all. Love you!

Amy said...

Just wait until she comes home and tells you how much she loved school. Then you will feel much better. One thing I have told myself about sending the kids to public school this year is that it is not a life long decision and if down the road things change for the kids and our family we can always reevalute the situation. I also plan to take summers to do the homeschool type field trips and stuff. So it is the best of both worlds. The biggest relief in sending them is the absence of all that guilt that goes along with trying to balance it all and being the only person responsible for their education. Also there is really so much offered at school that is almost impossible to duplicate. So relax and enjoy those babies!