Today we officially start our first full year of homeschool. It’s his first day of first grade and my second, first day of first grade! I’m not going to lie, I feel very uncertain about my ability to be his teacher. Yesterday as I made preparations, I cried. I feel so unqualified for this job. This is definitely going to be a one- day-at-a-time journey.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want our homeschool year to look like. I’m excited and nervous to kick off 1st grade with Jackson. We’re technically enrolled in Epic Charter School, which means we are pretty much doing public school at home.
Jackson has been assigned a special education teacher who will assist me and oversee his learning. A part of me feels good about this plan – some of the pressure is off my shoulders. Then again a part of me isn’t so sure about this plan after our not-so-good MAP testing experience. So we will take things one day at a time and change things up when/if we need to.
Flexibility is going to be the key to a good year.
I’m determined to meet Jackson where he is and help him flourish academically.
But I’ll be honest, I’m still learning how to do that. There’s no instruction manual for teaching a child with Dyspraxia, Apraxia of Speech, Sensory Processing Disorder, Anxiety and ADHD. Oh how I wish there was…
This year I want to create a fun learning environment.
I want to learn on-the-go. I don’t want to be stuck at the kitchen table.
I want to break away from my Type A tendencies and teach him in creative ways.
I want to meet him where he’s at (and be okay wherever that is).
I want to celebrate his strengths and encourage him in his weaknesses.
I want to read stories out loud to spark his imagination.
I want to instill a love for reading even if he struggles to read on his own.
I want to give him experiences – like feeding a giraffe through the sunroof or searching for a tide pool at dawn.
I want to buy books about all sorts of things.
I don’t want my unrealistic expectations to ruin his education.
I want to learn right alongside him.
I want slow, surrendered days.
I want to savor this season with my son.
I want to be all-in!!!