On Homeschooling

  I had no intention of homeschooling my children. Honestly, I was anxiously waiting just one more year for my youngest to finally go off to kindergarten so I could find work or apply for grad school. January 2020 I asked my kindergartener if he wanted to be homeschooled for the rest of the year. At 6 years old he was already dealing with bullies. He insisted he still loved school. Mid-March he asked if he could be homeschooled and I got to tell him it was his lucky day! They only had one day of in-school services left before quarantine. 

We tried to participate in the classes and video meetings, but it was sloppy. The teacher, whom we still admire dearly, jumped from platform to platform trying to figure out which was best and we got lost in the chaos. Spring break quickly turned into summer break. I collected all the worksheets mailed home and my son would randomly ask to do a page or two (yes, he ASKS for schoolwork), but zero pressure. It wasn't long before I started researching curriculum for the following year and compiling all the free things I could find and supplies. 

When I read rumors about classrooms being set up with plastic partitions, requiring masks, lunch being eaten at desks, no hands-on learning tools, and possibly no recess, I boarded that homeschool train. I didn't withdraw my child from school quite yet because I was curious how far our school district would go, but I was mentally prepared to take over. Then we went to visit my sister...

Her kids started online schooling the same week we arrived. I watched my sister run back and forth between each kid to help them log-in to class after class from 9am to 3pm, 30 minutes on, 15 minutes off, and their start times were staggered. So, basically, every 15 minutes she had to be available to help get a kid set up. It was completely impossible for her to do anything else with her day. 

The day we returned home I printed off the Declaration of Intent to Homeschool*. Next day, we handed it in to the district.

Our homeschooling will begin the day after Labor Day. I even agreed to take in my friend's two kids to join my own two for a couple days each week. Recipe for disaster...

 The Pink will abide

*Each state has its own requirements for homeschooling. Search your state for the correct declaration of intent and any other information you will be expected to report on throughout the year.

On Starting Fresh

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I started this last year with the resolution that I would update it once a week. Excellent work, Pink. In my defense, I was sufficiently distracted with dating, getting engaged to and marrying the man of my dreams and moving from New York City to Hawaii! It was a busy year.

My new husband, Mark, is in the Navy – yeah, I’m a military wife. He deployed to the Persian Gulf only 5 weeks after the wedding for ten months. TEN MONTHS! He will be back just in time for our one year anniversary. Those that say the first year of marriage is the hardest…don’t know how lucky they are that they at least get to BE with their spouse. Be grateful for things like that.

Not to be misunderstood, this won’t be a family-based blog. I mentioned that previous tidbit because Mark’s absence is the inspiration for returning to last year’s resolution. I’m bored. Besides being busy, I put off updating this because I kept telling myself to “hold off til the right time,” or I needed to over-think my ideas (not rare).  First of all, I’m no prodigy – haha so who am I to think the “world isn’t ready” for my banter. As to the latter point, I do over-think everything. Everything. Mark loves it (not). The world is going to the hipsters and, interestingly enough, the purveyors of originality scoff at individuality, making it a little daunting to openly express oneself. Regardless, some things just need to be said. If it can be summarized to the size of a Facebook status, it'll probably go there. If there's just too much to be said, you might see it here...

Either way, The Pink abides

On Being The Pink

A believer in staying young at heart, in dancing, in firm handshakes and great hugs, in showing gratitude, in being good, a supporter of the written word, a reveler in simplicity, a master in complexity, an expert in order and chaos, a veteran in love, a dabbler in the arts, an appreciater of beauty, my life comes with a soundtrack, I’m straight-forward, a lifelong student, a fighter, a dreamer, an open book that just got a little more open…

My name fits my description, being defined as “warrior, aggressiveness and strife,” with a second definition being “nature, especially spring time and woods.” These are true – being in my presence is like strolling through the woods on a warm and sunny April afternoon.

I tell it as it is. I do what I want. And all my bills are paid.

I bake, I cook, I sing, I dance, I draw, I write, I read, I play, I frolic, I plan, I solve, I observe. I think, I laugh. And now I blog.

“It's gonna be legend-... wait for it... and I hope you're not lactose intolerant because the second half of that word is ‘DAIRY!’”

The Pink Abides