Homeschooling R.O.C.K.S!
Real Moms, who face different Obstacles and Challenges as they homeschool their kids, yet put their trust in their King, Jesus Christ, and Stand firm in what the Lord has called them too!
This may possibly be the last in my summer blog series (unless some gals who were going to participate respond soon!). Unfortunately I was not provided with a photo of this gal and her family but I hope you enjoy and are encouraged by her words! Her story will speak to anyone who is homeschooling a child/children with special needs.
Me: "Rebecca. I'm excited to have the opportunity to get to know you and find out about your homeschooling journey. So thank you for being willing to share!!"
Rebecca: Thank you for including me and allowing me to share our journey!
Me: "Since we haven't met before can you tell me some details about yourself and your family!"
Rebecca: My husband and I have been married for 11 years. We have two boys, Josh and Jayson. Josh is 10 and Jayson is 7. We met and married in Colorado, where my husband was stationed in the Army. We're both originally from Texas, and live back here now close to my family. I am currently in school very part time attempting to finish my degree.
Me: "What sort of educational upbringing did you have? What were some of the positives and negatives you experienced?
Rebecca: I was brought up attending public school. Elementary was awesome for me! I was raised for several years by a single mom. When she got remarried, we did move so I had to switch schools. Middle school was quite a lot harder for me. We moved to a very small town and they had the mentality of if you did not grow up there, you didn't fit in. No matter what you did. I was in AP classes, played basketball, etc... But it didn't help. I was bullied a great deal during that time. I ended up homeschooling my ninth grade year. We ended up moving back to where I had gone to school at in elementary. But by then, most of my friends had moved on or away. It was hard to fit in again and I was pretty scarred from my middle school experience. I ended up finishing high school by homeschooling so I could graduate a year early.
Me: "I love hearing a mothers story of how she came to the decision to homeschool. Was this an easy decision for you or something you pondered and considered for awhile?"
Rebecca: This was a decision that before my children were born, I would have been perfectly fine with. But my husband and I had a plan of two working parents, the kids in public school, etc... That hit some kinks when our oldest was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 3. We still pursued public school, but it became increasingly harder and harder for me to hold down a job. I was either frequently late due to some issue with getting him to school, or having to leave early because of an issue the school was having. With a couple of jobs, it became a choice of quit or be fired. I usually ended up quitting. I lost one of my favorite jobs that way. But Josh came first. During his second grade year, things got worse at his school. He was bullied, he was not being given the services he was supposed to, I was getting constant calls to handle issues they should have been handling themselves, and on and on. So we made the decision during his Christmas break that year to pull him out and begin homeschooling. We haven't looked back! Our youngest went to public school as well for PreK. Then he went to private school for Kinder. Lots of issues were brought to light during that time. During this past year, he's had some testing done, and it's shown he has several learning disabilities and delays himself. So, for now, we are homeschooling him too.
Me: "There are so many wonderful aspects of homeschooling, what would you say are your top 5 favorite things you have seen/experienced?"
Rebecca: Well without a doubt my favorite thing has been to see Josh go from a terribly depressed, scared, mad boy to a boy who loves to play, is learning about humor, is affectionate with those he is closest to, and is coming more and more out his shell everyday. Flexibility, the homeschool laws in our state, the support that is available, and being able to help my children learn in the way that is best for them would be my other favorites. And not necessarily in that order!
Me: "Of course you homeschool for more than a day and all the excitement wears off and reality sets in and you face some challenges....what are some of those realities you have also encountered?"
Rebecca: Well we have to incorporate therapies into our daily routines. So sometimes meltdowns occur because so much is asked of Josh on a daily basis. He wears down. The kids arguing with each other. There are days Josh just wants to be left alone and have time to himself, and my outgoing social youngest son does not always understand that. So a lot of hurt feelings are dealt with as well. Sometimes it's an off day and no amount of schoolwork is going to get done. Other days I feel like I am drowning in the amount of laundry that needs to get done, the dishes that I need to wash, and I don't even want to think about what to make for dinner.
Me: "What do you think day to day life would look like if your kids were away at school all day? Have you at times considered this option?"
Rebecca : We don't consider it at all anymore for Josh. We have planned that we will most likely homeschool him until he graduates. As for Jayson, we think about it sometimes. But we also would rather do a private school. We've seen the experiences special needs kids can encounter in public school, and we're not willing to do it again.
Me: "Have you ever sat down and throught through or wrote down your purposes in homeschooling your kids? If so, what are some things you listed?"
Rebecca : Actually, no I really haven't. I've been so intent on getting testing and evaluations done for Jayson, setting up therapies, looking into curriculums that will hopefully work, that I've never really had a chance to do that.
Me: "Do you feel alone in your homeschooling journey or have you found outside support?"
Rebecca: I feel alone at times. There's a lot of homeschooling support around my area, but hardly any for homeschooling special needs kids. That's a whole different kettle of fish, and a lot of people don't really understand it. Sometimes, they don't want to.
Me: "Is there anything else you'd like to say or add that I didn't cover?"
Rebecca: No, I think I've told just almost every detail I can! lol
Me: "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you....your words are going to be such an encouragement for other moms out there! Blessings!"
Rebecca: Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to talk about us!
Just in case you missed it, here are the first nine in the series:
Now that I'm older I see that I can offer my kids a different alternative. I was always upset when a class I wanted wasn't available to take, etc. I want my kids to be able to delve into what ever their interests may be, outside of the core curriculum.
