Homeschool

We have just a couple more things to do to be completely ready for our first day of Homeschool on Monday.  I still need to get to the library and get a couple of books for the first week.  I have a couple of things to grab at the store for our first lesson (it's a cooking lesson about working together) and I need to print off each boy's schedule.  They are mostly the same but we stagger them on some things like reading, piano, and Spanish.  Besides that, I think we are ready.  Each boy has notebooks, folders, and a planner in their drawers.  I've got their curriculum chosen and organized in the bookshelf.  I've got a couple of weeks of lesson plans written.  

I've decided that we are going to focus a lot of executive skills this year as well as stress relief and anxiety relief techniques.  I have a long list of activities that we are going to incorporate into the day to help us learn how to use these skills on a regular basis.  For the executive skills functioning I've ordered multiple games that help improve executive skills.  Will loves games and since he is the one that most needs help in this area, I think the games will be perfect for him.  Each boy also has a planner for this very reason.  We are going to be pretty strict about writing assignments in our planners and planning out a timeline for our projects.  I hope by the time the year is over Will is going to be a pro at paying attention to details and being organized.

For our anxiety skills I've come up with a list of 30 activities we will do to help us learn how to manage our stress and anxiety better.  Off the top of my head some of them are yoga, deep breathing, journal writing, listening to music, exercise, and memorizing uplifting scriptures.  I am really hopeful that these techniques I've researched and planned for us to practice will help us all.  My kids really need some help in this area so I'm excited that I will have a chance to really focus on this area--something they really wouldn't have help with at school.

Am I mentally and emotionally ready for this change in our home?  No.  I actually had a major breakdown two nights ago when Mike put the letter to the school  in the mail withdrawing our children from the public school system.  I put it off as long as I possibly could until he finally just did it for me.  Today is the meet and greet at the school and I kept thinking maybe we would just hop on over and meet their teachers and just see if my feelings changed.  But now the letter is sent and it's pretty official.  I am not ready for this change.  I feel like after praying about it and going to the temple that this is the right thing for us but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it.  

There are a lot of women in this ward that homeschool and their kids are great and they are wonderful but homeschool has pretty much taken over their lives.  Some of them have demanding callings and they manage their callings well along with homeschooling.  I feel like I am a mother, a wife, a friend, a sister.  I have hobbies and a business to run with Mike.  I have a body that I am trying to work hard on making healthier and I need friends and interactions with other people.  

Most of the mothers I've interacted with who homeschool feel very strongly about their decision.  I don't feel that way.

My feelings on this are really complicated and too long to write about on here.  I am interested in seeing how this will effect our children on multiple levels and I am interested to see how my feelings change as time goes on.  If they don't change, I might not stick this out longer than the year.  In the meantime, I'm going to put my heart into it and make this the best year possible for the boys.