With the 2020 school year approaching and everything related to school being completely up in the air, we have decided to homeschool this semester. Today I’m sharing Why We Chose To Homeschool Our Kids In 2020 to shed some light on this decision.
But before we get started, if you are interested in homeschooling, I have a special gift for you.
I create this homeschooling routine cheat sheet to help you simplify the process. This routine is a simple sheet that helps you customize and plan out what each day will look like. So when day one rolls around, you and your littles will know exactly what to expect and how to stay on task.
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Here are a few other posts I think you will love:
Before I explain to you why we chose to homeschool our kids in 2020, I first want to tell you that homeschooling has never been a dream of mine.
I was homeschooled my entire life and it was not my favorite thing.
My mom did her absolute best especially considering how limited her resources were, but I love routine and structure and that’s hard to provide while homeschooling six kids.
I remember thinking that it would be the coolest thing in the world to go to a Christian school but that wasn’t even an option where we lived.
Fast forward 31 years and I found a great Christain school to send my daughter.
Her kindergarten year was full of uniforms, assignments, making friends and all the things I ever dreamed would be found in private schools.
Until March………
Why We Chose To Homeschool Our Kids In 2020
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Covid-19 happened
You see, March of 2020 rolled around and I skipped into the gym with my favorite song budding in my air-pod.
I was feeling good that day and was ready to get a hard workout in while I listened to one of my favorite podcasts.
I made a quick pit stop at the bathroom before I headed up to the track and when I turned the corner, I heard a ton of chatter.
Everyone was talking about the coronavirus and they were saying that school would be shut down and we’d be ordered to quarantine.
At the time that seemed impossible and absurd.
I’m not one to keep up with current news.
I had seen a few headlines about coronavirus but thought the experts would handle it and we could go about our daily tasks.
Sure enough, by the end of the week, my little kindergarten was sent home with a two-week packet.
We were told that they were cleaning the school and we’d be back in no time.
But as I checked into the news each day, our “going back day” got pushed out time after time again.
My heart started to sink as I faced the realization that we would be finishing the school year at home.
Don’t get me wrong, the school was on top of and rocked our distance learning program and I’m so thankful for that.
But I couldn’t help feeling sad to have drive-by kindergarten graduation in a time of so much unknown.
An emotional roller coaster with the schools
The big question of summer 2020 was “will school go back in the fall”. It felt like moms couldn’t help but obsess over it on every play date and small group discussion.
I was so tired of talking about it but still couldn’t help but bring it up to hear what other people’s opinions were on the subject.
We were told so many different things, and plans changed several times even up to August 18.
An emotional roller coaster is an understatement.
The thought of getting my kids “back to school ready” only to have them sent home on yet another shutdown is enough to make me scream!
For us, it seemed like the most sound decision was to pull the plug on school altogether and skip the emotional mayhem.
It just doesn’t sound like fun getting my kids in the school routine only to tell them then in a week or two that school is closing and they are back home.
School on my terms – Benefits of homeschooling
There I sat, on August 15 faced with the realization that even if my kids went back to school as planned, there is a very high chance they’d be coming home shortly after.
There were a few schools in the country that had reopened and had to close within the first week.
Since it seems that the chances of school closing are extremely high, I had to face the fact that we would be distance learning at some point.
I just don’t believe that the second wave of coronavirus couples with flu season how schools could stay open no matter how many people are pushing for it.
And although her private school laid out a great distance learning plan, it was not my favorite.
I couldn’t help but feel like moms get the short end of the stick with distance learning.
Like it or not, distance learning combines the downside of both school and homeschool.
You have to teach your kids at home which is not most moms’ dream, but you also are tied to the school’s schedule, zoom meetings, and assignments.
I understand that it makes sense for people that need the accountability and/or support aspect of distance learning.
But from where I sit, If I’m going to homeschool, it’s going to be on my terms.
Some of the best parts of homeschooling is getting to pick your schedule, and subjects, and field trips, and assignments, and all the fun things.
So for me, I would much rather homeschool independently then be tied to an establishment.
Apprehensive toward social distancing
The last thing that was a huge factor to me was the social distancing side of it.
I don’t think this is getting talked about enough, but what are the long term effects of sending my kids to a fear-based environment.
No matter what your stance is on the coronavirus, or social distancing or schools opening or closing, you cannot deny the fact that sending kids to an environment that won’t allow them to touch let alone be closer than 6 feet and are masked all day is fearful.
And I’m just not sure I want them in a place like that the majority of their week.
This wasn’t an easy decision, and though I do feel like it was the right decision for us, I have so many questions about what homeschooling looks like for us.
At this point, with the choices all of us moms have been given, I don’t know that there is a right answer.
Everyone is doing what we think is best for our kids in this impossible situation.
We plan on homeschooling for the first semester of 2020 and then reevaluate in December and make a plan for the second semester.
We are trying to take this one day at a time keeping faith and family first.
Xoxo
Colleen
P.S >>>>>>>>>Get the FREE homeschooling routine cheat sheet here
