Homeschool the Olivia Way

You may recall our failed homeschool experiment when we first arrived in Hawaii.  You know, back when I was crazy?  And as a typical type A personality, I had created this ridiculous schedule.  And I was struggling to make having my kids around all the time fit in with my time.  Didn't work.

So, you know the story--we started at the local elementary school, which we did for 7 weeks before they took a month long break (it's called year round school, and while the premise is great, the actual practice stinks).  And then we moved.  In the middle of this break, we were doing intensive consults with Olivia's psychiatrist.  This is also when we found out that her worries about school were not just big, they were monumental.

I timidly asked if homeschool was a good idea.  He wholeheartedly agreed, IF I could do it without driving myself crazy again.  Through a rash of small coincidences (some might say miracles--I would definitely agree that it all came together with a little Godly intervention), we found way to outsource.

Our plan is to let her medication kick in, continue homeschool for the rest of the school year, and the real key to our success--we work with a teacher.  An honest to God teacher whose speciality is reading and who worked at a very expensive private school here on the island that caters to children with dyslexia and other sensory issues.  She totally gets Olivia.  She understands when she wiggles and can't wear her shoes.  She's expensive, but it's cheaper than the private school, and it allows one on one attention.

Our schedule goes like this--three mornings a week, Olivia goes to Mrs. K's to have a 90 minute session where they cover reading, handwriting, and a bit of math.  Then we come home or go to the playground and together complete a little more reading, a little more handwriting, math, science, history, and geography.  Depends on the day, but these are the things she likes to do most.  I can relax because I know that her reading foundation is solid, and I don't get freaked out because I'm afraid I'm letting her fall behind in reading skills, therefore freaking her out and making her tense and frustrated.

I'll discuss our curriculum more tomorrow.  And how my own time is fitting in with this system. But for now, I have to tell you that I'm loving our solution.  Can you believe I could ever say that?  Can you believe my eye doesn't twitch anymore when I've been with just my two children for twelve straight hours?  We're doing it.  We're killing it.  We are rocking it.  We've come a long way, baby.