Ack! Back to Homeschooling!

[MamaRhi]

After two years back in public school, my children are returning to homeschooling. They are 11 and 8, entering 6th and 3rd grades. However, everything is changing!

DH and I broke up about 4 months ago after 12 years of marriage and the kids and I are moving out to land owned by friends of ours, who run an alternative type spiritual retreat center, to live off-the-grid. We'll start out living in a travel trailer with propane and solar power. My kids love it up there but have never spent more than a few weeks there at a time. We'll take all of our animals with us and probably expand their numbers a bit (more chickens and a dog at least). Instead of the raccoons and stray cats of suburbia, we'll be worried about mountain lions and surrounded by wild bunnies and turkeys. The nearest town is a 45 minute drive.

I'm planning to go through Ocean Grove Charter School this time, instead of filing as a private school. I think I'll need the guidance.

Anyone else homeschooling and living similarly? I'm excited and nervous all at the same time!!

[inky leeuhhh]

we are not living off the grid, but very simply in a two bedroom apt. i would LOVE to do what you are doing, but dh would not go for it . i am homeschooling my older dd, who is going into first grade, for the second year now and i am so excited! good luck to you and your kiddos with your fresh start .

[MamaRhi]

I've been wanting to do this for 3 years but DH wouldn't go for it either. He's a bit cranky with me too now that I've decided to do it now that we're splitting ways. Oh well...

Thanks for responding. I am really excited to get back in touch with homeschoolers and make new homeschooling friends.

[AAK]

Originally Posted by MamaRhi

I've been wanting to do this for 3 years but DH wouldn't go for it either. He's a bit cranky with me too now that I've decided to do it now that we're splitting ways. Oh well...

Good for you! You've wanted it for a while and now you can. I think divorce sucks, but it sounds like you are taking it all in stride. Just living off the grid will be a great learning experience for your kids. Keep in touch.

Amy

[tankgirl73]

Oh wow, that sounds fantastic, I'm so jealous!

Well, not particularly jealous of the marital split of course. BTDT. But honestly, I think that the increased attachment and connection of homeschooling is all the more important for a family healing from a split like that. It also makes visits to the other parent (assuming your kids will be doing that as well) soooooooooooo much simpler in terms of scheduling, since you don't have to worry about 'missing school'!!!

There was a period of a couple years where my ex and I were living in different provinces while he was in-between permanent jobs. Our son lived with me, but would spend a month at a time visiting with him. We had to miss some karate classes, but didn't miss any "school". We could organize it for whenever worked for US.

[MamaRhi]

Yeah, I am thinking that homeschooling is going to give the kids and I a chance to reconnect and being out there will give us some peace to heal from all of the craziness of the last year. Our plan for them visiting Dad involves a whole day of being in town doing stuff together while we wait for Dad to get home from work. So we're planning playdates with friends, museum and library trips and all the in town stuff that we need to get done. While the nearest town is 45 minutes away, Dad will be closer to an hour and a half away. I think this will be good for us so we have days that we are back in the town we've lived in for the last few years but we get to appreciate the time and then go back home to our mountain.

I think this also gives Dad the ability to take time off whenever works for him in order to take vacation time with his kids, rather than waiting for school breaks and stuff. We were already mostly ignoring official school breaks and getting in trouble for taking the kids fun places when they should have been in school. DD and DH went to New York to visit family for a week and it was so good for her to get that experience but it was a hassle clearing it with the school.

I'm so excited about all of this but also kind of nervous about living in a trailer with two kids and two cats. Thankfully there are other buildings on the property that we can make use of. I am thinking about making one of them our "school" just so we don't feel like we have to be cramped in our trailer constantly just to get our schooling stuff done. I tend to be a natural unschooler but that doesn't work so well for the kids. They need "school time" and "not school time".