Our Decision to Home School

 The decision to home school was made after a lot of thought and prayers. I spent Dallin's Pre-K year wrestling with what I wanted to do for his schooling. Like many important decisions I have made, I felt guided by God in making this one. I don't believe home schooling is for everyone. I don't believe I'm some amazing mom because I chose to home school (I definitely don't feel like one). What I do believe is this was right for Dallin.

Dallin is full of energy and enthusiasm. His energy makes him a really fun kid to play with. I think his energy will help him in sports and it will help him later in life be able to get a lot done. As a five year old boy though, his energy makes him a hard kid to teach. I never felt good about sending Dallin to an all day Kindergarten where he would do a lot of sitting. I didn't feel like this type of setting was conducive to his type of learning. Because I teach him at home, we can go for a bike ride in the morning, do some learning, jump on trampoline, do more school, enjoy some play time, and then do more school. Even while we are doing school, there is usually a lot of jumping around the room. In a one-on-one setting, I can handle jumping around.

Dallin's play is very active and big. He has never been one to play quietly with toys. His play usually involves jumping, flips, and tricks. Paper towel rolls became a fun toy one day.

Flipping

He can get pretty crazy with his body while he plays.

I think Dallin would really enjoy learning Parkour or doing American Ninja Warrior.

When I taught Dallin pre-K with 7 other friends, I would get so frustrated with him. Then I would get frustrated at the situation because I was teaching Pre-K for him but because 7 other friends were there, I couldn't tailor the education to him so that he could be successful. I don't regret teaching pre-K because Dallin learned so much by being with his friends but I love how I can now meet his needs better. For a long time I felt like Dallin had a hard time focusing. I couldn't get him to focus on handwriting or learning how to read. I even had one doctor throw out ADHD after a doctor's visit (really doesn't any kid look like they have ADHD after being shut in a tiny doctor's room for an hour?). Dallin doesn't have a hard time focusing on topics he is interested in though. We can read books about space, crocodiles, the inner workings of bodies etc for a long time without any fighting or reminders to stay focused. Now as his teacher, I pick themes to learn about that he is interested in. We make up word problems together to practice adding all about crocodiles. A year ago I would have said Dallin doesn't have any interest in learning. I would hear about kids who would cruise through work books which Dallin would never have done.  Now, Dallin is so excited about school and thirsts for knowledge because I've tailored his education to meet his needs and learning style (which definitely isn't work books!).

Here we are visiting the Butterfly museum with some friends. Bugs, snakes, scorpions... anything creepy and crawling becomes part of our lessons!

After Lili came a year ago, things got pretty rough at our house. Three kids threw me for a loop. We couldn't get out and play as much and release the energy. Dallin hit a wall with his reading and wouldn't progress. We were fighting over everything. Looking back I realize one of the main problems was with myself. I was comparing Dallin constantly to other kids and he was always coming up short instead of celebrating his gifts. During my search for help, I came across a couple of books discussing right brained kids. This opened a whole new world for Zane and me as we saw Dallin in a different light. Many right brained children can succeed in school just fine despite the schools teaching in a left brain manner. Other kids struggle and usually have labels put on them like dyslexia or ADHD at a early age. I'm not saying there isn't such a thing as dyslexia and other learning difficulties (I did teach mild/moderate special education for 6 years), but I do think more and more kids are being labeled at early ages where if they were taught in their style of learning they would thrive. I didn't want Dallin to be labeled or struggle with behavior because he couldn't release his energy and then hate school and learning. I also felt like his gifts couldn't be utilized in school like I could at home.

When I started doing research on how right brained children learn, we discovered many of Dallin's gifts including his magic brain. Dallin has a great memory and we like to play lots of games to improve this and to give Dallin confidence since I usually end up begging for him to give me a little of his magic brain so I can be as cool as him. When I teach Dallin a new word, I write the word out in different colors, sometimes draw pictures in the letters, and use the words in silly sentences. This glues the word into his brain. If he can visualize the word, then he has it. He can read it and spell it forwards and backwards. There are so many times we are doing a math problem or discovering something and he comes up with a conclusion while skipping many steps and I ask how in the world he knew that. His response is always, "Magic brain."
(I bought Dianne Craft's sight word flashcards and a few other products that support Dallin's type of learning and I'm loving them! I wish I had this information when I was teaching special education.)

There are pros and cons to home schooling. I love the freedom that home schooling provides. My sister-in-law has been pretty sick with her pregnancy, and so I took the kids and we drove out to help her. Because I'm teaching one on one, I feel like I can get a lot more done in a shorter amount of time. I can also make sure Dallin is doing his best work and again tailoring his education to him. I also like how Dallin has more time to spend with his siblings. He is a really good big brother and a great helper. I don't believe home schooling is just about academics. I have the time to teach Dallin other skills too.

Dallin teaching Gavin using Starfall.

My two biggest worries about home schooling were meeting Dallin's social needs (he is a very social child and would love to have a friend over every second of the day) and teaching him with two other kids in the house. We are part of a home school coop which we do social activities with. My friend and I also started a Friday Fun Day group where we rotate homes on Friday's for an art class, music class (I teach this one), and a science class. The last Friday of the month is field trip day. There are six kids in his group and I love having different teachers for Dallin.

Dallin at his science class. He was the only kid who wanted to dig through the pumpkin.

We converted our media room to the school room.

 Zane and I decided we didn't need a media room right now while our kids are small but having a separate room where we can shut the doors to keep kids out was important. We also wanted a room without toy distractions. I teach Dallin and Gavin together (although Gavin can be very distracting at times) and then when Gavin is napping or doing quiet time, I work with Dallin individually. This is probably the hardest part of homeschooling since it is on my mind all day and takes up any time I would usually use for myself. It is worth it though since Dallin is doing so well.

I'm not sure what is going to happen next year. Zane and I decided we would look at each year and decide what is best for our family. Right now, we are happy with how things are going.