2 Weeks in—School at Home With @SycamoreAcademy

(Some people think outside the box…some think better INSIDE the box!)

I like to say that we are homeschoolers, however some may not see us as homeschoolers simply because we aren’t all schooling the traditional homeschool way. No, we aren’t and I’m honestly quite glad we aren’t. While I have always wanted to homeschool, I currently feel like at this time in my life it is best that I have help. That is why I was extremely excited when I came across Sycamore Academy’s website. I had searched high and low for a private online school that wouldn’t cost me both my arm and my leg (you know what I mean).

Let me back up a bit for those of you that are visiting for the first time or for anyone that hadn’t read my earlier posts…

Our older children all attended public school for several years. We felt led to enroll the boys into a private school, but it was 30 minutes from our house. After making the drive half of the year we decided we would like to move closer to the school. I was volunteering at the school on a regular basis and the back and forth was just too much, especially in the winter. Fast forward…we bought the house closer to the school (a foreclosure that needed a complete remodel from roof to flooring), I began working full time at the school and things were good.

Then something happened…I started feeling led to go in another direction. I loved the school we were at but I wanted to be with my boys more. Having been home with my boys for 13 years and all of a sudden working full time made me really miss that time I had with them. The more I tried to fight myself about stepping away from the school, the more I knew I had to do it.

Fast some more…I announced I was leaving the school and was going to homeschool my children. I did this not knowing exactly what type of homeschooling we would do or where we would end up, but I trusted that, just as He always had, God would lead me in the right direction. And He did.

After much discussion and lots of prayer we finally found a solution that would work for us.

It’s not where I thought we would be, but it is even better!

The online private school I had originally planned to enroll the boys through was calling me every week, and every week I would tell them we needed some more time because we just weren’t sure we could afford it, but that I really badly wanted to send my children there. They were patient and continued to follow up as I had asked.

It wasn’t until I was online one day…feeling frustrated, but knowing that TODAY was the day I was going to find the right solution, that it slapped me in the face! I happened to be doing a search online for reviews of private online schools. I really don’t remember what I typed in, but somehow I ended up on a forum where homeschoolers were discussing what did and didn’t work for them, and there it was…the solution for our family, right in front of me.

I called the school right away and requested information. I must say that I knew the minute I talked to the staff that this was where we were supposed to be! The staff members are so friendly and so very helpful. They were able to get us quickly set up so we could start school. I have had questions periodically and have had to call in (and sometimes I send a quick email), and not once have I ever felt like I was bothering someone or asking a silly question. I seriously feel like the staff members are people I have known for a very long time—friendly and so very easy to talk to!

Now, I realize that online schooling doesn’t work for everyone, but for us this was such a great option. We have 4 children enrolled in school at Sycamore Academy. All 4 of these children are receiving accreditation through the school. Our youngest of the 4 (1st grader) is doing traditional homeschooling (we send work in to the school and they keep track of all transcripts and do report cards). That’s not all they do though, they also have the option of buying a pre-packaged curriculum, which is what I bought since we have never homeschooled and I was really overwhelmed with all of the different options. The pre-packaged curriculum comes with daily lesson plans so I don’t have to worry about trying to figure out what needs done every day. Our older 3 boys are doing online schooling. When they have a question or are unsure about something they can ask myself or my husband or they can skype or call their teachers (they also have a messaging option). The teachers are super friendly and we even have the option to set up tutoring sessions if one of our children is struggling or just not getting something.  I’m super excited about all of this and I feel like being our first year this is really making my life (and the life of my family) so much better! Not only are we bonding and spending quality time together, but we are also getting accredited schooling and everyone is happy!

Another shocker…the price! We are spending less money with this option than we had spent at the private school we were attending. This is huge for my family because it’s exactly what we were looking for, only without the high fees that were associated with most of the other private schools we looked into.

Now, I’m sure you are probably all going to get tired of hearing me talk about our schooling, but it really is a big part of our lives now and I want to share this journey with you all. Feel free to skip to the next post if you aren’t interested in hearing about our new ventures in homeschooling.

Learn more about Sycamore Academy online distance learning.

More to Come on Raising My 5 Sons…