13 Years! Episode 13!

It's official! I am now the homeschool mom of a teenager!

Transcript

13 Years old! Episode 13

         Welcome to Homeschool Horizons! I’m Yvette, your host! As of a few days ago, I am now officially the homeschool mom of a teenager! My son turned 13 years old! This has been extremely bittersweet! We celebrated his birthday with a 2-day extravaganza! We had so much fun, but man am I wiped out! We took last week off from schoolwork, but this week I am implementing my summer homeschool plan. I talked about it on last week’s episode. Basically, I will continue having both of my sons do math and writing this summer. 

         I think it will go okay, but I am highly aware of the fact that my 13 yr. old son is changing. It began happening just a few months ago. It’s hard to explain, but he is pulling away a bit and already displaying his need for some independence. He’s also showing an incredible amount of maturity when it comes to how he cares about me and how he treats me. I am so proud of him! I’m proud of the young man that he is becoming. However, I don’t want him to become a young man that I am proud of though. I want to rewind the clock and keep him at the age of 12 always! I can visualize all you moms who have already traveled my road, nodding your heads. I will get through this, just like all of you! 

         As far as homeschooling, I need to make changes as well to accommodate the changes happening in my son. I realize that I won’t be able to continue the same style of teaching that I have done with him for all of these past years. This summer, I plan to introduce the fact that he will be doing math and writing in a very simple way and I won’t be adding too much pressure on him. 

         In the past years, I have monitored his daily work very closely. His schoolwork has predominantly consisted of workbooks that I like to use for every subject. However, this spring I did enroll him in an extracurricular class at a learning center near us. He loved it! He loved interacting with his peers and I could tell he also enjoyed having a teacher that wasn’t me and dare I say it…. being away from me. 

I know this is actually a good thing! I really am happy and relieved at the fact that he feels confident being on his own, especially since the reason I even began homeschooling was because he was such a sensitive little boy and had that horrible situation happen to him in preschool! I remember when I began homeschooling him, even when I would enroll him in little classes here and there, he would need me to stay on campus or at least close by. 

But this spring, I’ve already registered him for 2 classes for the fall semester. I will probably also enroll him in an online class that my charter offers so that he can continue learning with his peers and experience different teaching styles from different teachers. I’ll make whatever changes I need to make happen, because it is so important to me that I maintain a great relationship with my teenage son! 

My little boy is growing up. All you moms out there that still have young children that you are homeschooling, I know you’ve heard this before, but I will say it to you anyway. Enjoy these years as best you can, because before you know it, your baby will be 13 too!   

I’m planning on enjoying this summer with my son because I recognize the time and memories I make with him, will be so precious to me now and for years to come. I encourage you all to do the same this summer with your children. Make memories and don’t worry if homeschooling doesn’t go exactly as you plan this summer. It’s important, but it’s not the most important thing. 

If you are like me and just became the mom of a teenager this year, please send me a message and share your experience with me. As always, I want to thank you for taking the time to listen to my little humble podcast today. Have a wonderful week! Talk you soon!