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Mamas who've put their kids in school....


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Did you find that you missed them terribly, OR did the days pass by so quickly for you?

 

A little over a month before we start this new public school adventure, and I'm really wondering which end of the teeter totter I'll end up on. Right now, I'm incredibly overwhelmed with them all home all day...but I know I'm hormonal and 34 weeks pregnant so I can't really foresee what I'll really feel like. But, I also know the air has been slowly escaping from this balloon far before I got pregnant...and so there's that. I just kind of want to prepare myself for what I'll feel either way. Also, still trying to decide whether to send the older 2 or all of them. Also, not a decision I can make just yet but it'll really be a last minute one as I sort out my feelings after baby comes. I'm deathly afraid I'll be miserable if I send them all, but I also feel like the time is right in so many aspects. I just don't know!

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At first it was just weird. Like I would walk around the house just sort of trying to figure out what to do. Then, once things had settled down and normalized, I found that some days I was lonely and missed them but other days I was glad to have some time with just the new baby. It was wonderful to bond one on one with the baby plus I was able to quickly and easily get errands, appointments, phone calls, emails, etc done during the week so we had our weekends to do fun stuff and relax. Plus the house stayed much cleaner so there was both less housework during the week as well as minimal time trying to play catchup on household projects. We're back to homeschooling now but in many respects it was a nice break.

 

Wanted to add that I was in a similar position in that we put the kids in school just after our sixth child arrived. I think it would have been a weird family dynamic for some of the kids to be homeschooled while others went to school. I could see resentment building up on both sides of that fence.

 

Just wanted to add one more thing. Our oldest was nine when we started our few years with schools. She's now nearly 13 and I feel like I'm coming out of the fog. I can leave her in charge (even with our seventh and eighth children here now) while I take a shower or work with the other kids. Between her and our second oldest they can prepare and clean up after full meals. Not just heating up soup but making real food. They're also old enough to do work on their own without the intensity required to, say, teach reading. Not that you'll necessarily want to but of you choose to return to homeschooling it will likely look so much different for you in a year or two or three than it does now.

Edited by airforcefamily
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We've gone full circle. We put our then kindy kid (half way through the year) and preschooler in school during a particularly rough time. I felt really guilty but there was also a deep sense of relief. They just came home (our son was one all along--due to anxiety school just isn't an option for him). I'm thrilled to be back homeschooling but I have zero regrets that we put them in school. Do what's best for your family.

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We've gone full circle. We put our then kindy kid (half way through the year) and preschooler in school during a particularly rough time. I felt really guilty but there was also a deep sense of relief. They just came home (our son was one all along--due to anxiety school just isn't an option for him). I'm thrilled to be back homeschooling but I have zero regrets that we put them in school. Do what's best for your family.

 

This intrigues me because I notice that a lot of people actually put their kids in school for a year, but then put them back in. I guess I know intellectually that this is "only for a year" but in my heart, I do feel like it's goodbye to homeschooling forever. I don't know why I feel this way, but I do. Here are a few details about what we are facing in case anyone else has any advice:

 

5th grader-highly extroverted, wants to go to school

4th grader-slightly shy, didn't initially want to go but is coming around to the idea. May struggle socially

1st grader-really shy and sweet, would be 1 of 28 1st graders which makes me absolutely cringe

Kinder-wants to go and I think she'd enjoy it

Prek-very busy and extroverted as well-would definitely enjoy it

 

So..my initial though of keeping my younger 3 home was just because of the first grade situation and because I know it doesn't take a ton of intense work at those ages. However, I feel so out of it right now and have ZERO motivation to teach them anything, or DO anything..and I have no idea if that will change. Maybe I'm seriously burned out. I don't know if I'll cry like a baby feeling like I've lost everything on that first day, or sigh a sigh of relief and snuggle with the baby happily.

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