Logical Mermaid

Why we homeschool?

Last year my son attended his first year of Kindergarten at a public school in Maryland for about four months. We knew we were a little apprehensive with him leaving the house every day without our supervision. Some of our biggest fears were his safety, nutrition and falling behind academically. Sadly, all these concerns came true. His nutrition was one of the first things we noticed that was suffering at school. He came home hungry way too often from school -despite the fact that I packed his lunch every day. Around the middle of the school year, I decided to visit his school one day during lunch. I noticed only some of the kids were eating, and the rest were chatting away -my son included. The teachers and volunteers seemed to be interested in controlling rambunctious children than getting them to eat. I vowed to give him a heavier breakfast in the morning from that day on. The last straw came at the end of the semester when my husband and I attended a parent-teacher conference. During this meeting, the teacher told us that our son was on track and was doing well. However, I noticed that his work looked incomplete on the display wall. I didn’t say anything to the teacher but when we left I asked my son why his work wasn’t completed and he said most days he just didn’t have enough time to finish. I am not sure if he was even absorbing the information presented in the classroom. This broke my heart. My mama bear radar went off and something just didn’t sit right with me. It was on his winter break that our family decided to move to California and with that move -start homeschooling.

Most homeschool programs online have a monthly or yearly subscription fee. This fee allows you to access printables worksheets, interactive activities, and subject-specific lesson plans. Online homeschool programs do require a few requirements. You must have fast, reliable internet access to best utilize these online courses. Some additionally need specific computer software. I am not using any online program at the moment, but I have researched and tried a few demos from some of the best. The advantage to any homeschool program whether online or taught by a tutor or instructor is that the student can study and learn at their own pace. Amazingly, students become more engaged and learn to love to discover new things.

Contrary to popular belief, research shows that homeschooled students do better academically, are more connected in their communities and more likely to be lifelong learners. We are currently homeschooling through a charter school in California. The charter school provides some of the same benefits as an online program, but they also offer classroom workshops, family events, and field trips. Teachers and mentors are available to help with academic advising and support. This charter school even offers a Chromebook to all kids grades 3-12! In just a short time, my son’s attention has improved considerably -so has his sense of accomplishment. He is reading above grade level and improving daily in his mathematics. This has easily been one of the best decisions we have made.

Mommy Guilt – Migraines Suck

When I woke up this morning around 5am, I had a terrible migraine. I tried to do my usual routine of taking my medicine and showering in steaming hot water to relax my muscles. I tried to get my day started early so that I could be well enough to deal with my son. My husband just recently started a new job so the idea of him staying home was not even a possibility. Normally I can fight through the pain but today it was unbearable. Recently, I have experienced only a handful of migraines a month. In my teenage years, I would typically have a migraine about 4 to 5 days a week. But I learned to just deal with it. Thankfully, my pain tolerance is pretty high because of it. But today was definitely one of the bad days because the pain was shooting down my neck as well.

My son woke up with a full amount of energy as usual around 7am. Before my husband left for work he fed him a pop tart and some juice. He told me he left him in the living room watching Sesame Street. After about an hour or so I got up and took a shower. I made me a cup of strong coffee and tried to check some emails. My phone screen was so bright it made me nauseous. Besides going to the bathroom and making his lunch, I was hopeless. I managed to get through most of the day by using a cold water bottle on my neck and laying down in bed trying not to lift my head at all.

Even while laying in my bed in excruciating pain I still felt guilty. I know that I am only human and that we all get sick sometimes. But I feel it is my duty as a mother to make sure my son is taken care of, not the other way around. I want to think that I am superwoman, and most of the time I feel like I am. Which is why it is hard for me to take breaks or relax when there is work to do. Being a work-at-home mom is as tough as it gets. I am so grateful for a son that is self-sufficient and caring. He made sure not to make a lot of noise so that mommy could rest and feel better. The pain got unbearable again after lunch and I wanted to sleep some more. I decided to lay back down and put on The Lego Movie for my son on our tablet. My son is almost six and doesn’t normally take a nap but today I made sure he did.

Because I home-school him, we have a somewhat strict routine in the morning. But my migraine threw off our whole morning, and we didn’t get his full work of studies done today. Which of course, made him happy. Given that it is summer I guess it’s OK.

Today has been a reminder that mommies get sick too. We are just good at hiding it most of the time :)

Motivation Mondays – Meditation

For those of you who don’t know already, meditation has many benefits. Studies show that meditation can basically help by resetting the nervous system. Did you know that people with Fibromyalgia and Psoriasis have been using meditation as a form of treatment and it has shown significant improvements? It can help get rid of bad habits by rearranging your thoughts and promoting positivity with a conscious effort. The goal is to let go of physical and emotional tensions. My husband has tried several times over the last two years to get me to start meditating. My passion to pursue meditating comes from wanting to reduce stress and lower my anxiety. I have also seen improvement in my sleep and patience. Most importantly, my spirituality has grown and I have become more grateful of my life. The more traditional method, Transcendental Meditation, uses a mantra (word or phrase) to calm internal thoughts with rhythmic sounds. If you are a beginner to meditation then TM would probably be best to try first. Positive thinking, noise-free environment, and an open mind is really all you need to start meditating.If difficulties arise early on, try to focus on your breathing instead of a phrase or Mantra. Take a deep breaths to help you concentrate. If it helps, you can focus your body parts. Start at your head and relax it. Go through each major body part and continue down to your toes. This will help calm your entire body and create balance. Lately, I have been very aware and conscious of my posture so I like to also take this time to strengthen my back and core when inhaling and exhaling. Surprisingly, even if thoughts are running in my head non-stop, I can still focus on my breath and get back to my “safe spot” and/or happy place.

I have learned through trial and error that it’s ok to have thoughts while you meditate. In fact it’s quite difficult to stop all of your thoughts or clear your head completely. Self-direction comes from clearing your mind and becoming focused. Sometimes an image or thought interrupts you.Patience is key. There is no exact science to meditation and there are many different ways to try.

Make time, be consistent and complete each session. Whether you schedule 5, 10 or 20 min, don’t give up!