This school year I will have three kids in school. Isaiah is starting 4th grade. Charlotte is starting 1st grade. And Hannah is starting preschool. My children have all attended public schools in the past and I presumed this school year would be the same. Since arriving back in Texas I have spent a significant amount of time getting the kids ready for the new school year...buying and organizing school supplies, sorting, washing & hanging school uniforms and just generally getting my kids excited to start the new school year.
And then we found out Hannah could not attend the public PreK program. We didn't qualify (thanks to a teeny tiny raise Joe received this summer). And yet private preschool was most definitely out of reach for our budget. So there's the crack. And we fell through it. Or in it. Whatever the correct terminology is we were seemingly without a good (easy!) preschool option for our four year old. And she most definitely was excited and ready to attend preschool (from all the talking it up we had done for weeks!). Womp. Womp. Womp.
This is where things got interesting. First I felt discouraged and a little hopeless. (Yes I'm dramatic. I know it's only preschool, but still. My plans changed unexpectedly. And I felt like I failed my child. And I do not like that.) Then I got thinking and dreaming and google searching. And talking to other local moms. Because moms know stuff. And if they don't know - they figure it out! And that's just what I did. I figured it out. After the initial disapointment wore off I realized this might just be a blessing in disguise. The nudge I needed to make changes for our family. A chance to make school work for us. Because honestly public school didn't feel like the best fit for us last school year. Two kids in two schools across town from each other was a logistical nightmare especially with a napping infant and energetic toddler. Add in a crazy, ever changing residency schedule. And Charlotte was so young for her class - I never felt a peace about having her in school last year. It just never felt right last year.
So I took the plunge and withdrew Charlotte from public school the Friday before the first week of school! (Actually in all honesty I made Isaiah do my dirty work. He ran the official "withdrawing from school" letter into Charlotte's school office while I waited in the idling van with the sleeping toddler in the parking lot. Still counts. She was withdrawn).
And Monday we started school. Isaiah chose to stay at his school. Which is a decision I fully endorse. It's a perfect fit for him. Charlotte and Hannah started 1st grade and PreK with me at home.
And Levi of course is along for the ride. Terrorizing the girls and the house as I try to educate them. At this point my "curriculum" is a modge podge of educational books I own + Charlotte & Isaiah's old public school textbooks + library books + dollar store workbooks. But I'm researching actual curriculums and will be ordering one soon. We joined a homeschool co-op that meets weekly. And I cleared off a small section of our book shelf to make room for our school supplies. It's a start.
Will we always homeschool? Probably not. Will Isaiah stay in public school? I think so. But honestly I don't know. We are just doing what works best RIGHT NOW in this moment. And that looks different for everyone in our family. And while it's a scary change. I feel good about it.
I guess I better pack up those school uniforms we don't need those taking up precious space in the girls' closet:)
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