2020 has been the year of never say never. It has also been the year of the pivot for me. As a small business owner, I have had to pivot in a major way to keep my business thriving in the midst of a pandemic. Even harder than keeping my business from sinking like the Titanic? FIGURING OUT SCHOOL FOR MY DAUGHTER. 

My family has taken this pandemic seriously since the beginning. We decided my daughter would not go back to school and started quarantining around March 18. I’m talking hard-core, doomsday prepper quarantining. We knocked out the remaining of my then-Kindergartener’s school year virtually and put school to the back of our mind since we figured this would all be over by the time the next school year rolled around. By the time June arrived, we realized this virus wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon and we needed to make a decision. 

A high at-risk daughter and increasing virus numbers ultimately drove us to make the decision that homeschooling would be the best route for us. Both my husband and I have the ability to work remotely, so we figured we could make it work. I officially withdrew her from school (and officially skyrocketed my anxiety) and started my hunt for the perfect curriculum. No one warned me about the homeschool curriculum rabbithole. There are too many curriculums to count, too many styles to count, and DEFINITELY too many Facebook homeschool mom groups fighting about the perfect way to homeschool to count.  

Sidenote: Moms Groups are like the WebMD of Facebook, only instead of being told you are dying because of a runny nose, you just get judged for any decision you make for your kid(s). Stay away! 

I finally found the perfect curriculum and dove in about 3 weeks ago. I can honestly say this has been a wonderful experience that I never thought I would enjoy. The freedom of deciding what I want to introduce to my daughter and when is a wonderful one. I can gage when she is ready to move forward in a subject, I can supplement in areas that she thrives in and I can remove parts of the curriculum that I find unnecessary.

At 6 years old, this is the perfect time to invest in continuing to mold her into the human being that we want her to eventually be. No outside influences, just mommy and daddy and our family values. I get to see milestones I didn’t realize I would have missed while she was at school. I see the changes she is going through with her personality and thought process and it’s all been wonderful to watch. 

Despite my pre-motherhood objections to homeschooling, I will probably continue once the pandemic is over if my daughter thrives in this new scenario. The new age of homeschool is much different than the “loner child” idea I used to have. There are co-ops, meet-ups, and a multitude of extracurricular activities available to families that decide to take this route. 

Don’t get me wrong, the days are long and hard. Outside of running a business, I also work part-time so adding “teacher” to my already tight schedule has been a huge adjustment for me. I’m exhausted most days even with my husband’s helping hand, but every day I promise myself that I will make the best of this because my daughter is watching and my attitude will determine her attitude. I wake up every morning, take a deep breath and tackle it all. I know it’s all working when I find “the best teacher ever” notes tucked under my pillow!

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