Yesterday we took a moment….

These past couple of weeks we made the hard and solid decision, that for at least the foreseeable future, I will be Homeschooling the Girls… This has brought so much lightness to my shoulders, and my heart, I think as well as Dear Birdy and Bean. Iv said it in an IG post recently, but it really does feel like we are coming HOME.

The two years prior I spent teaching them from Home was amazing- Our days consisted of reading books for hours, making handcrafts, taking trips to waterfalls, the mountains, the woods, while discovering our beautiful Island of Kyushu and all of the flora and nature she provides… We would bake almost daily and snuggle in pj’s under table forts while doing Math. It was a Season of Life I cherished so deeply- In 2021 we moved completely around the World- Now calling Sicily our Home. The girls wanted to try the local school here, as all of our new neighborhood friends went (a bit different then the HS Community we had been accustomed too) and of course I supported their decision….

The school year however, had many, many ups and downs. Yikes. I was hired on as a Sub for Elementary which allowed me to be part of their everyday still (no volunteers were allowed in classrooms due to the pandemic) Being back in a classroom was awesome- I love working with kids! Hanging out with them was second nature…. But something felt off balance. Story wasnt ready to leave me yet- the morning tantrums of not wanting to get on the bus or go to class were far to many, and Miss Tea was overstimulated by the environment, and a bit underwhelmed by the coursework- She fell back into her pattern of Teacher pleasing (strait A student) and suppressing her anxiety, to full on parent decompression when the end of the school day was over (If you have a child with a bit of a Special Mind you understand) She stopped writing, which for a child who has many characters playing out in her head constantly was difficult to manage, and the “Love for Learning” light in her eyes was growing dim- She told me so many days how she longed to just have hours to read her books and write her Stories… Although both girls did make a few friends and were excelling on the Grade System, I just saw so much missing.

This Summer we brought the subject back to the surface “What do you Girls think?? Homeschool??” They spent time looking up photos of our adventures, flipping through pages of their old portfolios and nature journals, made a pro/con list, and discussed what they wanted this next year to look like. It could have gone either way- Again, I would support whatever decision they would make-

I was offered a position in early July at the school as a temp aide in Kinder, which I was very excited for. We were on Vacation in London when the email came through, and I was very quick to jump for it, thinking that, if anything, the girls were planning on at least “TRYING” school out- But on that trip, something happened. There was a huge shift in Tea. The eight days we spent in England became to much for her, she was physically sick with overstimulation, clinging to me at all times. Her OCD took over and manifested into something different… She couldnt sleep or eat, and when going anywhere she needed to escape into her own “world” (Teas ‘world’ is her safe place- its a channel in her brain she turns to, to calm herself- This consists of her talking to her characters, me playing out a story, or talking about a book, on this occasion ‘Jane Eyre’, from front to back as a means of distraction while walking through the streets and sites.) My heart broke, Andrews heart broke. Here we planned a trip she was so excited for, and she was trying so hard to just hold on. She did have some amazing moments and made some great memories, but we saw her struggling far to much. I felt it in my chest, this instinct to just keep her with me all the time, protect her and sooth her, make it all go away, yet I know that isnt the answer- She is still a growing child, one who needs all different methods of Nurture.

I picked up my favorite HS Book The Call of the Wild and Free and read it front to back, looking for that courage and affirmation I felt when I first cracked the cover 3 years ago… It filled my Soul to the top all over again. The words resonate so deep within me. I knew the answer right then and there, yet it still wasnt MY decision to make- I asked the girls again last Monday “Well, what do we think?” and it was a solid “YES! Lets Homeschool!” Huge hugs and excitement all around….

That evening about 9:30 I found Birdy all wrapped up in her quilt, a huge pile of her handmade Novels from past years covering every inch of her bed. The small reading light was on as a watched her eyes darting from page to page. I asked what she was up to so late and her response affirmed everything I needed to know “I’m getting inspiration, Im ready to write some new books” … The next morning she came downstairs with a journal I gave her at Christmas last year- white with pink flowers from rifle Paper Co- that had remained empty- and she began filling the pages. Now, 2 weeks later, she is in full blown Author Mode.

A weight has been lifted from her, from me, from Story. We are right where we need to be.

So yesterday, we drove to the Mountain. The girls ran through the woods with arms out-stretched, gathering bird feathers and leaves and Spanish broom and pine cones. They drew in the dirt with sticks and looked up in the treetops for nests and birds. I havent seen them this happy in Nature for some time, but this will be our “norm” again, in time, and it feels sooooo good!

I hope as we continue through this Journey that I share here, in this space, our corner, some of our moments- The good times, the hard- some of the beauty and tid-bits of the everyday… I hope you stay tuned, and thanks for reading if you got this far-

Much love friends, xoxox

Re-Exploring our Homeschool Path- This is our Journey