I know that life holds no guarantees. I completely understand that (in the logical side of my brain), but I really wish that there were some sort of sign, some sort of assurance that everything is going to be OK, that I'm not going to regret leaving the classroom and my career, and the money, behind.
I'm starting to have a bit of a panic attack every time I think about homeschooling. It's not so much the curriculum that is getting me worked up (using my experience as a classroom teacher, finding resources and planning is second nature to me now)...it's more like...the unknown aspect of it. How am I going to know that I'm doing it right? How will I not lose my mind or go stir crazy, or not have The Monk go stir crazy? What about money (for bills, for supplies, resources, or even more importantly, quilting!)? I've never been a SAHM, never really not had a professional career. I mean, I've worked since I was 13 (at least every summer until college, then I worked FT and went to school FT). How do I keep myself busy? Do I really want to spend the day working on elementary skills AND cleaning the house AND cooking? Do I really want to give up the life to which I have grown accustomed to (you know, like having money and getting out of the house and having a job)? I know, in the logical side of my brain, that I have already pulled the trigger (I'm so playing Rhianna's Russian Roulette in my head right now) on letting my professional teaching career go, but I still have these waves of panic where I can't help but freak b/c there is so much that is unknown. How do I keep all of that from taking away what I'm sure will be an enriching and wonderful experience, both for myself and my son? There is a method to our madness in deciding to homeschool (otherwise, The Hubs would never have let me quit my job), but as the reality of it gets closer and closer, I can't help but feel nervous and uncertain. I don't want our lives to be a struggle or to be made more difficult. We are trying hard to make life more simple.
I know that life holds no guarantees. I completely understand that (in the logical side of my brain), but I really wish that there were some sort of sign, some sort of assurance that everything is going to be OK, that I'm not going to regret leaving the classroom and my career, and the money, behind.
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So I have a bit of a bone to pick with those who create professional planners...why aren't there any good SECULAR homeschool planners? Oh, I'm finding them by the ton that were created by moms like me who are looking for something to help them stay organized, but none of them are EXACTLY what I want or they just don't have that professional, manufactured feel to them. And, having been a teacher, I'm a bit of a planner junkie. I like planners and how pretty they are (especially those by Erin Condren), but even she does not have anything that really fits the lifestyle of a homeschooling mom (especially one on a budget - it was a different story when I was getting a paycheck and could buy one of her fancy ones for my classroom when I was teaching in the public setting). I even like this one by HEDUA except for one teensy little issue - I don't need, nor want, a Christian planner. As a Buddhist family, we don't need to be able to read through the Bible in one year. The designs are pretty and the layout is helpful, but it doesn't do me any good when it has stuff I don't need. I'm wondering why they aren't interested in creating a secular version. Wouldn't that help those of us who are wanting to purchase their products, but don't because there are things that just don't fit? So, I created my own using a planner that I was able to pick up from a friend of mine. It's a student planner that I adjusted (thanks to my handy-dandy PaperMate felt-tip pens). Problem is, it is still missing quite a bit of material that I am wanting (record sheets, attendance records, monthly planning calendars). I was able to block everything up into his workboxes, but I still feel as though this make-shift planner that I made is rather haphazard and not precisely what I was looking for. Sigh. Something that the Monk really likes to do is have observation journals. He's a scientist at heart and he really likes to notice and name what he is watching or seeing in the world around him. In preparation for getting him used to being homeschooled, I created an observation journal that he can work on (once a week) so that he can discuss and keep track of what the chicks are doing as they are growing up in the house before being moved to the coop outside. I also have some lapbook parts for the boy to be able to create a chart for the life cycle of a chicken, as well as write a story about what he's noticed and named, but those were not my ideas, so I don't have them saved to publish them. Sorry.
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How it all started...I was a public school teacher for 6 years in a very urban middle school for both 7th and 8th grade. As the red-tape got thicker and teaching became more of a business rather than a place to prepare young minds to enter into the world, I decided that if I was going to work that hard to give an education to someone, it should be my own son. So, my adventures in homeschooling has begun. Follow us on Instagram!
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