Hello from Texas

**mwilde** · 03-09-2018, 03:08 AM

Hello everyone! I’ve been homeschooling my 6-yr-old daughter for about a month now. We live in a tiny town in far west Texas (Alpine). My daughter has sensory processing issues, a lot of social anxiety, and a health issue. So she was mostly coming home from her Montessori school very worn out, worried, and unhappy. I wanted to see if being at home would make her happier and more confident. So far I’m struggling a lot, but she does seem to be in overall better spirits. I feel like I’m only pulling off 10% of what I hoped we’d do, partly because of my job demands, but also because she’s often unfocused, silly or disinterested. I know this is not at all how she behaved at school. I’m having trouble figuring out if it’s because I’ve chosen the wrong curricula for her (Brave Writer, Shiller Math, an abacus workbook, some occasional Saxon worksheets, and lots of games, reading, tinkering and art) or if she’s just pushing boundaries and buttons. Since we’re in a tiny town, I haven’t found many other secular homeschoolers to connect with, so hoping to find more community here!

**Deli76** · 03-09-2018, 10:45 AM

Hi. Welcome to the forum!
Testing boundries and buttons are a definite. Some of us here have unschooled for an amount of time. Also, what takes the school 8 hours, can take a homeschooler 1-2 hours. Some of us only do lessons 2 or 3 times a week and still accomplish more than what the public and private schools do. Your daughter is young. Take your time. She is still learning about the world through her senses. Also, some of us have our kids take a class through a co-op. My daughter is the last child at home, and these co-op classes are great for her.
I am self employed. I work very part time. From time to time my work schedule does take some time away from lessons, but we make do and its actually a nice distraction from the formal lessons.
There are a lot of people here help. Take a look around and enjoy your time!

**mwilde** · 03-11-2018, 09:22 AM

Thanks for the perspective! Good to know how much time you spend doing lessons. That’s about what we’re pulling off, so I feel better about it now.

**Oksana** · 03-11-2018, 01:10 PM

I am homeschooling my third 6yo this year. At this age, 15-20 min of directed sit-at-the-table work is all we aim for. The rest is playing, reading, educational apps and movies, more playing, answering questions, and explaining how the world works. It is much more important to sustain their natural love of learning, than to cram in an extra worksheet against their will. Keep it fun, keep it light, read to her a lot! You will be amazed how much young kids learn by just being their and absorbing

**tm808** · 07-05-2019, 09:01 AM

Hi, I've been homeschooling my 8yr old DD in Austin, TX. I've been feeling the need to move to a smaller town, the pace & population density here overwhelms me, as does the mold/ humidity. However, the amazing homeschool community we have here, which is big on fostering social and emotional intelligence, is a primary reason I stay. We recently visited Alpine and I could really see myself enjoying life there but my daughter is both highly sensitive and highly social. She thrives on community but it has to be a community of thoughtful, kind-hearted, curious kiddos. I am curious about your experience of homeschool community in Alpine? Is there much (or any) secular homeschool community there? We take a eclectic secular with a Waldorf inspired, as well as life-learning, project based approach.
Thanks!