With a little help from our friends...

 Hi there!

So.  Here is what they don't tell you about homeschooling in Ontario.  

YOU ARE FREE TO TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WHATEVER AND HOWEVER YOU WOULD LIKE!

Exhilarating.  Amazing.  Downright TERRIFYING.

I am sure each school board is different in small ways, but once I had signed that intent to homeschool form, we were on our own.  No technology sharing or online resource access; even our girls' google drive and board email were gone.

Before we made the leap I had read up and realized all this, with the exception of that last point.  My girls were shocked at losing all the work of the previous years that were stored on their google drive as well as the emotional loss of feeling 'disconnected' from their school community.

Thankfully, reaching out to parents of school friends, we are finding other ways of connecting and maintaining friendships.  Right now that is through emails, FaceTime and even snail mail! (My preference and a great introduction to learning to write letters! Haha)

With our intention being to return to public education when it is safe to do so (we absolutely love our educators, school community and the experiences we have had over the years) I chose to follow the Ontario ministry's  curriculum outline.  Having said that, reading those documents is like reading legal documents in all "lawyer speak" while inhaling laughing gas upside down in a dentist chair.  Haha. 

Thankfully we have some wonderful homeschooling bloggers with years of experience and resources for us; in the curriculum department, I found the most help from The Canadian Homeschooler .  She even broke down that hard to read ministry document into helpful checklists for Mommas like me!  You can check them out here .

The curriculum list (and the mountains of workbooks from our eldest two ladybugs that I have kept over the years) have helped us put together learning goals for the year.  Our learning year may not always be pretty but I am determined to make it as memorable and emotionally healthy as I possibly can for all of us here on SchnickAcres.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Jeanette