One month into 2nd grade (October of 2016), my oldest son Sean threw me and my husband a curveball: he wanted to be homeschooled.
Homeschooled? Excuse me?
This was NOT part of the plan. Yet looking back, I can’t say I was completely surprised.
Sean had been experiencing separation anxiety since preschool. He had a hard time with goodbyes at drop off, but I knew a lot of kids did. I figured it would ease as he grew.
But it came to a head when he was 7 years old (a few months shy of 8) when he literally wouldn’t walk into his classroom one morning. And despite everything we tried, he never walked into that classroom again as a student.
I’ll never forget this time. It was lonely and terrifying. “What was wrong with my son?” I thought. Why couldn’t he do the ONE thing all of his friends could do: GO TO SCHOOL?
During the weeks that followed, we toured other schools … worked with therapists from different disciplines … prayed … cried … and hoped he would change his mind so we could resume our previous life and I could give lots of attention to my business. But he was firm: HOMESCHOOL was for him.
Steven and I finally surrendered in December of that year. We officially unenrolled him from his private Waldorf school and officially set off on the homeschool path.
This article “18 Reasons Why Doctors and Lawyers Homeschool Their Children” sealed the deal for me.
I encourage you to read it.
My mother-in-law Doris sent it to us when we were navigating this new world. Steven and I read it out loud together (we took turns). I burst out crying at the end and managed to get out the words: “this is what he needs. This is what we all need.”
I knew that spirit was talking to me through the article.
And that was that.
Here’s a book that may be helpful to you as well. It’s called “Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling” by John Taylor Gatto. I read it when we were just getting started. It certainly lit a fire.
We’ve just completed our third school year of homeschooling and I’ve received a lot of questions about homeschooling from entrepreneur friends and friends of friends – online and in my local community here in the Berkshires of Massachusetts.
The main question >> how do you homeschool AND run a business? How is this even possible?
Up to now I’ve connected 1:1 with these brave, curious souls, but have been wanting to create this post so I can share tips and lessons learned with a wider audience. It is my intention to help you walk this path with confidence and grace if you choose to.
Creating this piece of content is also a smarter use of my time and honestly, that’s one of my tips: use your time like a freaking pro! This is a non-negotiable. All you recovering people pleasers (hand raised over here!) have to nail this if you want to make this work.
Homeschooling has been such a blessing for our family. It was the thing I never wanted that I have come to realize I always wanted. These moments – although many of them are HARD – are moments we will always treasure with our children.
So you can either watch the video or listen to the podcast to hear my answers to these questions:
- Where do you begin?
- What kind of approvals do you need and from whom?
- What does a typical day look like?
- When do you work?
- How do you take time for yourself?
- How do you build in social activities for your kids?
- How do you best build your teaching team?
- What’s happened in your business as a result of you homeschooling?
I truly am at the point to be able to offer up some advice and guidance because of a few homeschool angels – Bibb Bailey, Stephanie Beatty and Beth Ramberg (my cousin!) – who lovingly guided me in those initial days when I was nervous and scared and not knowing how it would all work out. So thank you to them and the families who have come before ours for showing us the way.
How long will we homeschool? We take it year by year. We listen to our kids. We help them grow. We help them become all they were designed to be.
I hope you find this post helpful!
QUESTION: how do your potential clients feel when they find you? Or are they missing you because you’re hiding? Are they missing you because your message is safe (aka: BORING)? Are they missing you because you’re afraid to make offers and be too “salesy”?
TRUTH: you’re not the only one who does what you do. But you’re the only one who can do it and be it EXACTLY like you. You’re one of a kind.
So claim that shit! And bang the drum in the way that only you can.
If not you, who?
You’re a light bearer and a beacon. You have music inside of you. It’s time to SHARE IT + SELL IT more fully and profitably.
When you fully STEP INTO THE POWER OF YOUR WORK, you change millions of lives.
Your relationships improve.
You stop “waiting” and making excuses.
You earn so much money with ease.
You take care of yourself and get taken care of like the queen you are.
If you’re not here yet, it’s because you’re not letting yourself be here.
And that’s no way to live.
That’s no way to work.
I am a difference maker to difference makers.
Together, we gently shake the world and make the change we came here to make.
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Love,
Jenny
