Yes! You’ve read it correctly! We indeed enrolled our children ( 3 of them) into a brick and mortar public school. After nearly 3 years of home education, we decided to go a different route. Teacher burn out is real so imagine being both the parent and teacher? It became overwhelming and none of us were happy about it. I was stressed, I was tired, I was annoyed. It took months for me to decide what to do and what will be best for my children. I wanted to try an online curriculum but the risk of it not working for my children wasn’t worth it on our pockets. My husband then suggested putting them into the school district. I felt defeated. I felt discouraged. Am I not enough for my children? Am I no longer needed? These questions threatened me for months. Even after deciding to re-enroll them I felt like I had lost. I already had to deal with the questions about my children’s social life, now this!? How will I tell people I no longer teach my children? So I didn’t. Only a handful of people (that’s including family) knew about our decision to re-enroll them in public school.

So, in February 2019, I took 3 of my children to our district’s schools and re-enrolled them. I know you may wonder why 3 and not all 5.? Let’s backtrack…

October 2015, I’ve had enough of the public school system. The unnecessary conferences and calls.  The car lines and bus rides. The inconvenience of the school day period! It started with my youngest. I enrolled her into a pre-k program while I taught at a school. She was only 3 at the time. I rushed her into an environment that was waiting for her to fail. She wasn’t ready for school. She couldn’t defend herself. She was labeled even though she was the brightest student in the class. What was mistaken for rebellion was fear. My then 3-year-old was terrified of her teacher. To this day, my daughter complains about the teacher. She’s 6 now, but children don’t forget their feelings toward people and yes they are very forgiving but they don’t forget. She was withdrawn from the program and I resigned from teaching to teaching her at home. A few months later, issues arise with my son and my oldest daughter. “They are bored”, said their teachers. My children were outgrowing the school. They were no longer challenged and motivated. Their grades dropped. Their attitudes toward the teachers grew. All of the calls home and notes sent, I had enough! My other two daughters were thriving but weren’t challenged enough. I took my children out and transferred my second oldest in K12. K12 provided the challenges she needed and she has been thriving ever since. The other children couldn’t qualify right away so I began to create my own curriculum. So for the next 3 years, that’s what I did. I created curriculums based on their strengths and weaknesses. It was a lot of work and I have a ton of grey hairs to show for it.

Fast forward to February 2019, 3 of my children began their brick and mortar school experience. Enrolling my 2nd and 3rd grader was easy for the most part because everyone knew us and I left with a great working relationship with the staff of their school. They were happy to have them back. I enrolled them in time to partake in State testing. My son was enrolled in his rightful grade, 3rd grade. He hated it so much because at home he was working on 4th-grade material. I encouraged him enough to where he was confident to stick it out and happened to end the school year with amazing grades! My daughter who enrolled as a 2nd grader thrived. She shared a class with many of her dance friends. My oldest, who enrolled as a 7th grader did well and didn’t complain much about the schoolwork because she was well acquainted with many of the subjects because of what I taught her at home. I was left encouraged. I felt accomplished. While they were at school, my second oldest and youngest were at home with me. Traveling back and forth to the schools was stressful and I didn’t miss that at all. I was so ready for the school year to end and they were only there for a few weeks 🙂 

Testing came and gone and the school year was complete. We transferred our children out of the traditional brick and mortar schools and enrolled them all (except the youngest) in K12. Today, we have 4 of 5 of our children in an online school. We are all still adjusting to this new way of learning, but I am so happy to have my children back at home.

So how did my children enjoy public school those few months? Hear it from their words:

R1: Public school was really fun! I miss all my friends there. And they all miss me, says my Bff next door. I learned a lot. Now that I’m back at home, my fam really annoys me sometimes. Learning with K12 is difficult and hard to understand, but I am getting better.”

R3: ” Being at home with the girls again sucks but at school, the teachers were mean and unhappy all of the time. But now, I can do all of my work at once and be done for the rest of the day.”

R4: “I miss my friends but I see them at dance class. I am happy to be home and do all of my work fast. Plus the food is better at home.”

Now, I can honestly say, when my kids were at school, my refrigerator took a break. But the food was still gone fast because, after school, they were hungry. 🙂

Today, we are wrapping up our school day. They all had their lunch and with today being the day before grocery shopping, food is low so I had to get creative! :)But K12 has made my life easier now that I don’t have to worry about a curriculum and most importantly my children’s safety and innocence. As their learning coach, I am involved in their education and have access to the teachers all week long. I am blessed to have K12 in my home because I can have my children with me. We can travel whenever we want and not have to worry about attendance because schooling can be done on the road! School supplies and materials are provided and all I have to do is store everything. K12 is a wonderful option for me and I am grateful that because I did enroll my children earlier this year; because of that decision, we were able to qualify for K12. So now, I have 4 of 5 children enrolled at a K12 school. My youngest is still too young, but soon she will join them!

I take this experience as a lesson learned. Life can through curveballs and leave you discouraged, but trust the process and process have its time. Everything that was meant to be will be.

It’s been a long time since I last post and I am trying to get back into the swing of things…but I’m back!!

Here’s a small recap…

Early this year, we decided to home school our five children. This decision was based on our experience with our youngest child in preschool. You can refer to that post for the details. Anyway, we are entering into our 12th week of homeschooling and to say the least, it has been challenging yet rewarding! Our the next few posts, I will break down each child’s curriculum and experience.

Today, we will get a quick look at Rylee’s curriculum. We decided K12 was a good fit for Rylee. K12 is an online public school using Texas curriculum and expectations. Honestly, the program is little more advanced than your average brick and mortar institution but Rylee is handling it like a champ! The first few weeks was a learning curve, but we finally understand the structure and expectations of the program. Rylee is our only online learner and I know she loves the idea of being the only one in the house to do this program. Rylee’s lessons are all self-paced but being her learning coach, I like to keep up with the teachers and lesson plans given. Lessons are emailed in 3 week sections and Rylee has the ability to stay ahead of her work. I am still trying to get use to her teachers because some of them are always late sending required work and assignments which makes it difficult to stay ahead because we are almost always an assignment behind. Other than that, Rylee is maintaining her grades and received A’s and B’s this past quarter!! Go Rylee!!! If you have any questions about K12, you can refer to their website or leave a comment below!

Also you can click on the video and get an idea of what Rylee’s curriculum is all about!!

NO MORE TWENTIES!!!

I think may cry!! God has been so good to me and I am ready to see what amazing things He’ll do in the 30s!! I’ve learned so many things the past 30 years and I would like to list…

30 things I’ve learned in 30 years in good humor! ENJOY!!!

1. God is Good… IN ALL THINGS!!!
2. Family is important!
3. People will use you!
4. BOLDNESS!!!
5. I still look like a high school student! And that’s ok! #blackdontcrack
6.  God knew what He was doing when He gave me my husband.
7. Friends are all about quality not quantity.
8. Everyone is not your friend!
9. Take care of yourself. Mentally and Physically!
10. Love yourself!!
11. I cannot eat dairy products and that’s ok!
12. Ask for help!!
13. It’s ok to take a nap! I deserve it!
14. I make glasses trendy!
15. Forgive others.
16. Stay away from foolish/petty people.
17. Admitting to myself that I am flawed, but that’s ok!
18. Debt free is the way to be!
19. Don’t compare yourself to others! Everyone’s struggle differ!
20. I don’t have to wear 6 inch heels everyday to be cute!
21. My milkmaid twists are super dope!!
22. Follow your dreams
23. Floods may come but the latter is always greater!
24. Invest in yourself!
25. Smile!!
26. Laugh often!
27. Date nights are essential!
28. Everyday is a lesson learned!
29. Speak Life!
30. Learn something new!

I am so blessed to join the 30s club!! God has been so good thus far and I know He will show up and show out in my 30s!! So much learning and growing ahead and I can’t wait to enjoy the ride!!

It’s officially summer and though it’s time to hit the beaches and plan family vacations, it is also imperative to hit the books. It is proven that children suffer from “summer reading loss” when they are not working their brains the way they did during the school year. Summer reading loss refers to the decline in children’s reading development that can occur during summer vacation times when children are away from the classroom and not participating in formal literacy programs (Allington & McGill-Franzen, 2003). So as parents we have to be consistent when it comes to setting a time during the day (each day) to read with your child. Here are a few suggestions to keep those creative minds going throughout the summer:

1. Make reading fun!! You don’t necessarily need to dig your head into a book to work your child’s mind. A good ol’ scavenger hunt that is cognitively provoking and entertaining. One of the great things about scavenger hunts is that you don’t have to spend time making and hiding clues. The players search for things that already exist.

2. Library visits. Libraries always have great reading programs during the summer months with awesome incentives. Check your local library for more information.

3. Choosing the right books. I have 5 children who all read at their appropriate ages for their grade. It is important to find books that is appropriate to their level and for a positive challenge, find books to a level up. Choosing he right book will keep reading interesting. I believe giving a book to a child below their reading level is actually more stunting than not reading at all as well as boring.

4. Record their reading. Logging the progress of your child’s will encourage them to read more. An example of log recording can include a weekly book report.

5. Communication. Talking to your children challenges them mentally and strengthens relationships with them. So get talking!!

There are so many ways to provoke a reader. What are some of your ways to educate your child this summer?

Obviously I put my own personal spin the the popular quote by Vivian Green

Everyday IS a lesson learned!