It's been a LONG time since I have updated my blog or post. Homeschooling life gets busy. Family obligations, teaching, learning, kids' activities, and self care all competing for my time. It's hard to believe it's been 4 years already, since settling into our new "retired" life from the military. Making new friends, connections, meeting neighbors, deciding what is best for each of my kids as they get older... So much has happened and time flew by in a blink of an eye. With that, let's recap and give you a little big of an update. We moved across the ocean, retiring from our active duty military family life, 4 years ago. Plans were chaotic and up in the air. Nothing was concrete for a while. Our goals at that time were finding a house to grow roots in, longer than the typical 3 years each duty station as led us to be in. Figuring out a new job for my husband, and what we thought was best for our kids moving forward. We had entered into homeschooling during our last duty station, the previous 3 years before now, with new beginnings and no expectations of how long we would continue to homeschool for. Homeschooling in Hawaii was a true blessing, eye opener, and precious gift that I have never regretted (and if I am being honest, sometimes miss and long for again). We had met so many other homeschool families, learned how to adapt, pursued out of home field trips that led us to great adventures, and most importantly spent so much quality time together as a family doing so! So with our move, and so much unknown in the air, we decided our following school year we should continue to homeschool as we learn our new area, community, options and opportunities that our new city and state has to offer. It was the one constant thing that we could keep the same, during a time of so much change. My oldest was entering 8th grade, my youngest was entering 4th grade at the time. We had no connections to a co-op or other homeschool families, we didn't know what neighborhood or school zone we were going to be living in, so I gathered as many materials as I could to begin homeschooling in our AirBnB while we searched for a house. I also searched out as many memberships to surrounding facilities as I could. Botanical gardens membership, museum memberships, homeschool science classes at the local STEAM building, online homeschool Facebook groups that had local meet ups, all in order to start making connections and learning. We found a PE teacher that taught out of her home, met other families at field trips and parks, and slowly settled into a routine. I still was uncertain how long I could continue to homeschool, especially with an upcoming high schooler fast approaching. I had no clue how to teach high school, what was required, and how to track it. This was new ground for me; uncharted territory. I had a degree in early childhood education and elementary education. Could I really be responsible for getting my teens a high school diploma? And if so, how do I do that? Those were all questions I was unsure how to answer. I didn't have many people with older kids that homeschooled, that I knew what to do. The few people I did know, didn't live near me anymore. They chose online courses for their teens. There was that option, to go online completely and allow them to take courses that way through high school, but I still didn't have enough knowledge about which ones to do or how, or how much money I wanted to spend on them. As we learned more about our city, we found out there are multiple magnet schools in our area. One in particular that offers STEM classes and gears towards engineering and computer science. I told my oldest about it, and he was immediately excited! He had talked about wanting to go back to school, go to prom, have a graduation ceremony. Things I didn't know if homeschool families, at least in this area, provided for their high schoolers. So when we stumbled upon this magnet school, we took a tour of the high school and grew more interested in this option for the upcoming years. It was a more traditional public school with electives that geared towards STEM classes, it fitted my son's learning styles and interests, and most importantly it was what he wanted to do. So we applied to be accepted and he was admitted into the public magnet school program! I remember asking during this process what we would do if he didn't get selected, and he told me his only other choice was to continue homeschooling. I remember feeling a little overwhelmed again, not having my answers of how to do that! But it all worked out in the end. He was with other kids, similar in nature to him, fitting in, learning things that I didn't know how to teach or how to give him access to courses that are suited for his interests. He found his path, and it came with some bumps along the way, but has truly worked out and we couldn't be more proud or happy for him. Relearning how to go back to public school and sit at desks and be assigned more homework again were all my biggest concerns. But he has proven himself capable and has achieved great grades. He has worked hard, and is now a senior finishing out his last year before college! As for my youngest, we weren't really wanting to send him back to public school right in the middle of middle school. Is it the only choice to thrust our child into a new community, new school, new neighbors as a pre-teen? Middle school comes with its own set of issues, that we aren't fond of. I know it's a part of life to many, and both my husband and I survived it. But is that what we wanted for our kids, to just survive middle school? If we had figured out how to homeschool this far, surely we could continue to do so for a little while longer. It was one of our reasons we chose to homeschool in Hawaii anyway. So we decided that continuing on with homeschool for the youngest one was the best choice for us and our family. It's not for everyone, certainly, but it was something that fit our family and we could continue as an option. That's one thing I have certainly learned from this whole thing, nothing has to be concrete. You can make a decision, but also change your plans if circumstances require it. Not every family, and not every kid, does well in public school, private school, or homeschool. There is no one way to do things. It's fluid, and we continued forward, knowing we can always adapt and be fluid with our plans at any moment in time. With our first year of homeschooling both boys in our new home, we started meeting other homeschool families, learned of co-ops in the area, met kids close to my kids' ages. We started to build our network of support and our own new community of friends. This is so important no matter what path you choose, but so much more when you choose the path least accepted. You need that support and community of friends who are also going through what you go through; to bounce ideas off of or to simply vent about daily struggles. It is so important to homeschool families, and I would not be here without that support! When COVID-19 came crashing in on us, we were prepared. Life continued at home, but that was normal for us. We were used to it, and adapted with little to no issues. Remote learning for public schooling, simply just meant my oldest was back at home with us another year! We welcomed it and he continued to learn virtually with his school. My husband came home to work, and continues to work from home still today. My youngest and I probably had to adjust the most to make room in the house for 2 more people, but it wasn't hard to do. We had plenty of space, and were flexible with the changes. We all had the chance to learn and do our meetings in our pjs. Sleep in a little more, relax with breakfast and lunch schedules. It was actually nice to have us all home again together. We forget that our teens still need us, and soon will be gone. That year to year and a half, gave us another chance at being together as a family and bonding more; reconnecting again. Long story - long, we are now a house divided. I have one in a public magnet school, I have one at home schooling. I divide my time between both kids, but follow the school districts calendar closely still trying to mesh both worlds together. I am still here for my oldest when he needs help on his school work or problems. I am still teaching all our core subjects to my youngest at home. We have friends from both public school and homeschool. We have friends with kids of all ages and walks of life. The life of homeschooling has taught not just my kids, but most importantly me as well. We have learned to adapt, change, be flexible, and accept other families for their choices in life. We know everyone is different, learns differently, and respect whatever decisions they choose is best for them. Most importantly, we know what works for us, and how to find what makes us happy! Isn't that what we all want out of life?
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Hawaii has had so many great memories. It holds a dear spot in my heart! I have been on several journey, both physically and emotionally, and this one defiantly sits on top in shaping who I am and what I do.
Retired now from the service, after 22 years, and finally we have claimed a home that hopefully will be more permanent. We are surrounded by nature and enjoy viewing the hills, waterfalls, trees and ponds around us. I am a lover of the outdoors, and want to do my part to preserve our beautiful resources!
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ReBecca HoweI started my Norwex journey almost 15 years ago! I began being a consumer and enjoying the products, but decided to join the team and spread the positive information 10 years ago. Archives
August 2022
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