Home Schooling Light
I always wanted to home school. When my daughter was born, I had high hopes for the life ahead of us. I lived across the street from a pediatrician and his wife and they had five kids. The three youngest were home schooled and they all loved it. There was also a private school in Gainesville that was started by home schooling moms where the kids attend three days a week and you essentially home school the other two days. We had several friends with children in the school. It was a wonderful blend and something I was looking at quite seriously.
Then, we moved. I still thought I would home school. But then, another shift in plans occurred when my ex left us and I became a single mom. I went back to school to get certified to teach, but I knew that actually being home with my daughter permanently was a dead end dream, so to speak. I’m home with her this year, but I need to start looking for teaching positions soon.
Anyway, while Gigi is home for two weeks this holiday season, I am doing my best to help keep her mind sharp. She was with her dad last week, but this week we have made reading and math lessons a daily part of our time together. We are both having a lot of fun with the workbooks I found and one of our favorite games has been where she dictates a letter to me and I walk her through how to spell each work. It is time consuming, but it is also such amazing time with my daughter. Her teacher told me last month that Gigi needed to work on figuring out the difference between “E” and “F”. I would say that after this week, she has that mastered.
This is just a small taste of what it might be like if I could home school her for real. I LOVE sharing the little learning victories with her and mourn the fact that we cannot do this on a regular basis. But then, I will be one of those moms who honestly enjoys helping my kid with her homework.
Maybe down the road things will work out that you can homeschooler your daughter. I know of a few single mothers who were able to find work such that they could also homeschool their children.
Good luck with 2008.