As we finish out the summer, I want to update our friends and supporters on our kids' schooling situation. Over the weekend, the Belizean government mandated distance learning once again for all students nationwide. Our kids have not been in a school building since March 2020 and it doesn't look like that's gonna change any time soon.
AJ, who is 13, will be heading into High School starting next Monday. He was really excited to not only be in high school, but also to be in-person at least a few days/week. Now that that has changed, our extreme extrovert is adjusting once again to disappointment. The good thing is, AJ has been accepted to one of the best public high schools in the area and they have done a pretty good job of distance learning since the beginning of last school year. AJ is adamant that he stay enrolled in public school so that some day he will be able to attend school with his Belizean peers. In addition to his required work, we will continue to give him advanced work at home, to make sure he keeps up with North American standards.
Brooklyn is our anxious learner. Although she has always done well, she stresses out a lot about how she compares with her peers. Last year, she received paper packets from school and had online classes 2 days per week. In addition, we also gave her Math, language and other subjects to keep her learning. Despite those efforts we believe Brookie can't afford another year of piece-meal instruction, so we made the hard choice to homeschool her this year. We'll keep her enrolled in the public K-8 school, but will supplement with actual home school curriculum for now. The main reason for this is due to her immigration status, as she is here under a student visa. We will see how she (and Eddie) does with the home school curriculum this year and may decide to go all-in at semester break or next year. Brooklyn is excited to be homeschooled, but of course, we haven't actually done any work yet. ;)
If you've followed our blog or social media accounts over the past two years, you may remember that we never intended to home school. Of course, nothing in our lives could have prepared us for the alternative reality we are living in. Eddie and I have prayerfully let-go of our refusal to homeschool and are hoping for the best.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
How about you? Has God pushed you out of your comfort zone during these Covid times? Has He asked you to let go of a stance that you've always held onto? Has He asked you to do something you swore you'd never do? If so, how's that going? We'd love to hear how He's working in your life too. As for us, it's back to school.
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