Homeschooing No More

We made the decision to put the kids back into in-person school.

As a parent I am very excited. My kids were flying through textbooks like it was their job. They were just soaking up so much academic knowledge, but each day it seemed like they were losing more and more social skills. They have resorted to punching or kicking to solve the smallest disputes. I can only have so many talks about how a sibling is still a person before I give up.

Now I’m not trying to just put this behavior into the teachers responsibilities. I am not trying to use them as babysitters so I have time to myself (though I am very excited about that). I am excited or them to go to school so that their brains have to be used in different ways. They will have to figure out how to talk to other kids in a way where the other kids want to play with them. They will have to do group projects with somebody that isn’t a sibling. They will have to slow down how quickly they are working so they are at the same pace as class mates.

First Born is really afraid of going back to school. She is afraid that she won’t remember the other kids, or won’t know what to say to them. She is afraid of getting in trouble all the time again. She is afraid she will be picked on. So she and I talked about all of these things and hopefully it helped. I think the fact that her teacher has been out of the classroom for the part of the year she hasn’t been in the class is helping her. Her teacher had knee surgery the day the kids went back in person, and has been out since then to let it heal. So the teacher will be back Monday, and we are hoping first born will be able to return on Thursday.

Second Born is stoked to go back. We went shopping for new clothes that fit him after all the growth over the last year and he couldn’t be more excited. He has been wanting to go play with his friends so badly, but hasn’t been able to. He is really looking forward to spending so much time with his friends. My worry with him is where he is academically. I think he is really advanced for his grade and I’m not as confident in his teacher’s desire to encourage his desire to learn with his inability to sit still.

Overall I think the average is a cautiously optimistic. We need to remember to take things one day at a time and see where things go.