A few weeks ago we had Caleb tested to see where he is for his fine motor skills, developmental delay, etc. After we got the results back and talked with the psychologist we decided it was time to make some changes for Caleb. We prayed for guidance and we prayed some more and then we got our answer. Homeschool. Yep. Homeschool. Yep, I know, I said it. I admit it. I will NEVER homeschool my child. I ate my words....not so tasty going down. I have since learned that the public or private school setting is not for everyone and as a mom we MUST do what is best for our children. So here we are....homeschooling. Wow, for the first week I thought I must be losing my mind....how in the world was I going to be able to do the homeschool and everything else....then I figured it out....just do it like I do everything else...with passion, with love, with lots of prayer and guidance, with patience (oops, don't have much of that) and without a lot of sleep.
I guess I should address the "why" for homeschool. As most of my close friends and family know, we adopted Caleb. We brought him home from the hospital when he was 2 days old. His birth mom was addicted to meth during her pregnancy and this brought about many problems (physically, mentally, and cognitively) for Caleb. His first few years were very rough. You can actually read more on this in a previous blog. But to the point, we have been working with Caleb the past 5 years on his developmental delay (speech, motor skills, etc.) and on his health (lack of sucking reflex, breathing problems, and low immune system). Caleb has made great progress but just wasn't quite where his teacher thought he should be as a kindergartener. Therefore the reason for the testing. The results: Caleb was far more advanced than we thought. His cognitive skills were well beyond the kindergarten level and his IQ represented this as well. His fine motor skills had improved but could still use more improvement. So why was he behind in his kindergarten class? He needed more individualized instruction. So homeschool was our option and a good option for us.
So we found our curriculum, we made daily plans, we got everything ready....what am I saying....there was no WE, it was ME!!! And then, Caleb and I created a special area in the corner of my office for his "school." And so we began. And Caleb is thriving in his homeschool environment. He loves working on the projects we get to do, on his workbooks, on his reading skills, and everything about school or learning. I hope it lasts!!!
Oliver even enjoys coming to homeschool sometimes!
Did I mention that I only average about 4 hours of sleep? Did I mention that this is hard work? Did I mention that I wanted to be an elementary teacher while in my first years of college and changed my mind after a semester of shadowing a class? Did I mention that I never thought I was cut out for this? Did I mention that I teach adults who are teachers? Yeah, I thought so.....but here I am loving every minute of homeschooling this sweet child.
Until next time, the doctor is out......writing up curriculum plans, searching for projects, searching for sleep, and enjoying my life everyday with my 5 year old.
