 The honest truth is it was not easy deciding to homeschool. No matter how awful school was for my kids, it provided me structure, support and a false sense of security that everything was going to be okay. School was just what you did, right? I mean, every time I tried to share my struggles with friends they would get this glazed look in their eyes and share with me how their kids "loved" school - so I stopped sharing. . Homework battles- they had no clue. Stomach Issues and anxiety - not them. They would try to offer support and advice but mostly they could not relate and I would leave our chats feeling hollow and lost. It seemed like everyone else's kids were thriving in sports, enjoying school and basically succeeding at playing the game, but not us. No, my kids were miserable and so were we. I knew from the time my oldest was very young that she was bright. You can't not know that when people tell you that they just had an adult conversation with your 3 year old, or when your kid starts reading super early, or when your kid just seems to pick things up like sponge. These things are obvious. Things get more fuzzy when your bright child starts under-performing in school . When homework leaves both of you in tears because you KNOW she knows the answers but it takes hours to complete. When teachers are lost because she is so bright but she just won't do the work and are keeping your child in at recess to do work that she learned how to do months ago. When years and years of parent- teacher meetings are a complete and utter waste of time, when each and every time all your advocating for your child needs falls on deaf ears and when,,,,, finally the principal tells you his hands are tied and you realize something needs to change because YOU just can't live this way anymore. After years of everything being so uncertain, everything got super clear the moment that the psychologist handed me the report and told us that our daughter was gifted. Understanding that gifted is not about achievement but that it is about how you are wired - made all the difference for me. Getting my daughter tested and doing my own research answered so many questions and helped me see that there is nothing wrong with my kids or us for that matter. It's just that the way that traditional school works doesn't accommodate gifted kids well and that is okay. Knowing this gave me the guts to listen to that deep inner knowing that is a mother's intuition and to leave the mainstream to homeschool. And so my Spacious Life begins..... Join the FREE Spacious Life Community on Facebook Here :
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