Homeschooling the Chunks

So this is a bit of a difficult one for me to write. I'm not going to lie, this is one thing I never thought I would EVER DO. I grew up in public school, experienced all the social awkwardness and pressures and always thought I would send my kids right back into that mess of teenage hormones and terrible decision-making skills. Never in my life did I picture myself homeschooling my child, and if you knew me in my high school years you can just chuckle quietly to yourself, ok? This is just so not me or my forte, but I love my little Chunks more than anything so I am willing to do whatever it takes to make sure they're challenged, loved and given every chance imaginable to succeed.

Jackson was weird from day one. I mean that in the best sense, but he could sit for an hour at his little bookshelf in our small townhouse in Vancouver looking through books, turning every page. He could sit in his chair and watch the entire Mama Mia movie at a few weeks old - don't judge me, he loved every second and this mama needed to wash dishes.  His attention span has always been insane, and his love for books was born into him.

Socially Jackson has always struggled a bit. He has lots of friends at school, he has a great attitude and is like any typical five year old trying to figure out the whole social etiquette thing... calling someone chubby cheeks is not a compliment. But as okay as Jackson is with friends and social cues, he would so much rather lay on the floor with a book about dinosaurs or science experiments. All this kid wants to do is have his nose in a book, and I don't know about you, but I sure wasn't reading short novels at the age of five. Please know I am not bragging, I am very proud of Jackson and his skills, however, Maddox is a whole different kid with different interests which I love, and every kid is SO DIFFERENT. Jackson can’t throw a ball to save his life, and was actually quite delayed in speech as a toddler which is interesting to me now!

In December we had a chat with his teacher to get him assessed and at that time she told us that he was reading at an end of year grade four level. This did not shock me at the least, however, it was clear we had to do something different. We talked about possible ideas of how to keep him challenged in his current situation, and as a mama, these options weren't good enough. Again, I have absolutely NOTHING against any type of schooling or education, everyone is doing a great job in their own way, I just have a very unique child who I want to see always challenged and celebrated for his individuality and different talents and challenges.

Hubs and I were back and forth for months. I asked so many questions to a close friend who is a teacher in public school, a friend I have met from social media who is a psychologist and many more about their thoughts and opinions. Our family is very divided in opinions which is all great and fine, I was raised in public school and Hubs was homeschooled so opinions are welcomed and we are open to them! However, after hearing everyone's thoughts and considering them, and knowing in our hearts what is right, we've decided to homeschool Jackson starting this September.

I had a vision for next year. I thought I would have one kid in full-time school, which as a stay at home mom, changes your life a little bit. Going down to one kid all day? Pffff easy! And so much fun having some one on one time with Maddox. I dreamt about getting to the gym after dropping Jackson off in the morning, having a little more of my life back for me. As we mamas know, I don't think this happens EVER. Your kids come first, always - and I am so on board with that. This next year has changed a bit for me which has caused me to go through a bit of grieving and now excitement for all that we get to learn and do together!

If anyone has any advice or if you are homeschooling in the YYC area, please comment below or send me an email! This is 100% new to me, so any help, support or suggestions is so welcomed! I am beyond excited for our next chapter in this Chunk house - it's about to get wild up in here!