Hi. My name is Melissa and I am privilaged to be a mom to 5 wonderful children. Oh, and I homeschool.
Every family has their own reason for homeschooling. We have what I like to call a “blended” family. This means some of our kids go to school, while others stay home. Come January of each year we gear our selves up to either register for a school or to keep them home the following year. I am proud to say that we have been a homeschool family for 4 years now. My oldest is 2 grade levels ahead of his peers and is thriving at home.
Last year, my 2nd son was lucky to join his brother for “Mommy’s School”. He completed a 3 year program at a wonderful preschool/Pre-k program and was ready for kindergarten. On the surface one might have looked at us learning all over town (yes, homeschool children also get field trips!) and seen 2 happy children (with their new baby sister in tow). On the outside this special kindergartener seemed like your average child. You would never guess that truthfully, he is a special needs child.
“But that’s all good!” you might say. Of course its good, but what you wont see right away is our son has Sensory Intergration Disorder. This means his senses are extra sensative and therefore doesn’t function or learn in the same matter as other children. We’ve been through the whole therapy scene and have since moved on with a plan of action.
Being an observant Jewish family, the decision to homeschool vs sending to school can be a tough one. You want them to get a great secular education (math, science, language arts, social studies) as well as a great judaic education. Of course living the life style is a great way to learn HOW to do things, but it doesnt always teach WHY. For our son we decided that getting strong building blocks for his secular education first would be the best thing for him. Over time, we would encourage him to explore the judaics. I have to be honest, our plan backfired when he announced to us that he want to be “A Rabbi and a Daddy!”. I guess a dual curriculim is a MUST for him!
So whats the purpose of writing my ups and downs on paper and sharing with the world? There are many people who think that a child who is special needs can’t learn, or wont be able to keep up with the rest of us. I think its important to educate these people. But there are also other families that have fallen in this trap of what to do with their own “special” child. Life is not easy for us, but we can definatly make it all worth it.