Finding a New Normal

This year is a new experience for us home schooling. I am working part time outside of the home for the first time since we began this journey. I have done some outside teaching all along at home school groups but the kids have always been with me in their other classes. Now I am back teaching in the college classroom as an adjunct, teaching a high school debate class and doing ACT tutoring. The kids are in 7th, 5th and 3rd grade. Life is very busy. We are learning to create new routines. We are finding our new normal. This is also our first year without an active home school cooperative. After 8 years with home school coops it feels odd to not have a place we all go and do something together. The kids are taking a gym class each week at the time of our old coop and Maria is taking a weekly Spanish class at a home school tutoring center. We miss Academy but it was for a season of our life and this is our new season that we are finding peace with now. I thought I would truly miss the teaching part for myself as I love working with junior and senior high kids. Life has brought me new opportunities and I still get to work with kids other than my own through my tutoring and starting up a local debate academy to teach junior and senior high kids those skills. In addition now I get to work with college students again since I have resumed teaching as an adjunct. I also of course teach my own kids. This year has reminded me of how much I love sharing my knowledge and skills in the area of argument and debate. I realize how much I truly love teaching and coaching and I am thankful for the new opportunities to do so.