Several years ago, I homeschooled my two oldest children for two years. After much prayer, we decided to put them into public school (they actually were selected in the lottery for a charter school!) after a very rough year (Raegan was born during the school year and I had post partum depression). Julie was in fifth grade the first year that they attended our little charter school. Overall, our family has had a very good experience at their school. Julie finished at that school after eighth grade, and just recently graduated from our neighborhood public high school.
But this past year has been incredibly difficult for our youngest, Raegan. We had meeting after meeting with her teacher, and then with the special services team, and then with the principal, seeking to find a path forward. Our daughter was several months behind where she should have been in reading and in math. However, she wasn’t far enough behind to qualify for special services. We had her tested for dyslexia, but while have several markers of dyslexia, she did not have enough for a clinical diagnosis. When I pressed the school for a plan and timetable to get her up to reading on grade level, there was no plan available for my daughter.
In addition to the academic concerns, we discovered that she was being bullied. She was crying and throwing temper tantrums almost every day about having to go to school.
So, Jay and I decided that her education was too important to keep doing the same thing that wasn’t working, and we pulled her out of school. That was March. Today we finished our 12th week of homeschooling. I literally cannot believe the change in her countenance. Her meltdowns have gone from several a day to once or twice a week. While not perfect, we are definitely moving in a good direction.
My days are once again filled with spending time with my youngest. I put my grad school on a year’s hiatus. But I know that God has called me to this. And I can see how much Raegan is benefiting from having one on one attention.
Don’t get me wrong…she quite often tells me how much she misses seeing her friends (whom she does still get to see, just not every day!). We are learning a new rhythm of life. Some days of homeschool are amazing. Some are meh. But we are making progress. And that I will take.
–Carissa
That Shalom Life 