Parent Hacks admin: Fits and starts, but good ones!

Well, hello! As you may have noticed, posting last week was in fits and starts (mostly fits). Progress continues on managing my new schedule as a work-at-home and home-schooling parent, but it's far from linear. Some weeks I'm on top of the world, and others, I'm scraping to get dinner on the table. But while the logistics are complicated, the situation is wonderful. Home schooling has been a fantastic choice for my son.

As many of you may know, I started home schooling my ten year-old son in January. I've gotten so many wonderful emails and comments from you cheering me on...thank you. You have no idea how good it feels to have this wave of positive enthusiasm behind me, especially because this is such unfamiliar territory.

A few of you have asked me to write in more detail about our home schooling decision: why, when, how. Those posts are coalescing in my mind and will appear here soon. My hope is that by sharing my experience so far, we can spend the summer talking about school and learning in a broader context. Parenthackers are such a smart, inquisitive group...I think we could talk about this stuff forever.

Anyway, just wanted to let you know that the posting blips will hopefully reduce in frequency as I get better organized. And that all is well in the House of Dornfest. And that I'm so grateful that I get to go on this adventure while still hanging out with all of you.

Comments

[Gina]

Asha -

I'm so happy to hear that homeschooling is going well and having such a tremendous benefit with your son. I'm anxious to learn more about how you're pulling this all together - work + family + homeschool. We may have a combination of things in our future and I'm in learning mode right now.

Best wishes to you all.

[Sally J. (Practical Archivist)]

Asha,

This week Erin had a book review over at Unclutterer. She had me convinced with her opening sentence -- which was basically "Asha said I should read this book." That's when I realized how much I missed your writing and Parent Hacks. So of course I had to stop by.

In an interesting coincidence, just a few months ago we began home schooling our son Ben, 7. It was a difficult decision because my husband and I are both strong supporters of our local public schools. But the school failed our son in a fairly serious way, and he had to get out of his classroom. Since it was so close to the end of the school year it seemed silly to force him to start over in a new class.

Bottom line? Our son is thriving now. I can't believe the difference. He is learning joyfully and creating amazing projects. His reading skills took a huge leap forward. Every day he has a chance to move around when he needs to move around, amen. At least half the time, he stands up at his desk when he writes. My husband is in charge of most of the home schooling, and I am awed at how he's handling this.

I'm so glad you're going to write about your experiences. You're absolutely not alone!