It wasn't an easy decision but we pulled my son out of his preschool. After a year of putting him on diets and seeking professional help, he started getting sick again. His back to back colds re-triggered his reactive airways and I found myself putting him back on Asthma medication. We spend this past Easter in the E.R. and a few weeks later I had to dose him with Steroids because I couldn't get his retracting under control. Maybe it's my recent birth and I am just too tired but I felt on the verge of a panic attack.
I can't go through this again.
And I know school was the main cause. His body can't recover fast enough. It's a breeding ground. The other reason was our home environment. We lived in our dance studio which was so awesome....and so unhealthy. My kids crawled around on a floor that 100 people walked on a week. They never saw nature because we lived in DTLA where the streets are covered in human feces and most days a face mask is recommended.
I just couldn't do it anymore. And after countless conversations, my husband agreed. We closed our local dance studio, sold our house, most of what we owned and moved to Santa Barbara. Already, I can see my kids thriving in this new environment. Any you know what? My son hasn't gotten sick ONCE.
So this has led me to now decide what my 5 year old's educational future will be. The tricky thing is, as much as I don't believe public school is the best place to educate, even a private school is not the healthiest environment for my kid to be in, and I don't think the mom should be the ONLY source of education. I think it truly takes a village and my son needs a variety of influencers in his life.
And then let's throw in the personal side of things. I love to work and follow my own dreams. Unfortunately, my dreams are not to be a school teacher. I wish they were- it would be a lot easier to be fully satisfied as a stay at home mom. But it's not. So what's the solution to all of this?
After months of reflecting and researching, I found the answer!
Huxley will be in a private forest school and homeschooled part time. We were able to get financial assistance with the school and I am utilizing free recourses online for homeschooling to make all of this possible. His forest school will provide nature study, art projects and socialization in addition to healing his micro-biome and nervous system. And he won't be inside all day! No germs to pass around!
I will provide exposure to the academia side of things (in a non pressure way) as well as teaching him life skills (finances, chores, computer skills, mindfulness, etc).
I am just over the moon about this arrangement. I will get my space to work while monitoring his health and education. I just started officially homeschooling and will be sharing my adventures in future posts. For now, I want to hear what YOU have done? Anyone out there have to come up with a unique solution to your homeschool desires? Anyone have some epic recourses you could pass my way? I am a total newbie here! :)