How it's going 24/7 home school

Today starts the 3rd week of this "24/7 home school" as Espen has taken to calling it.  I'd love to sit here and tell you it is a smooth and easy transition and that we have all our crap figured out.  We don't.  

We try to get the work done in the morning because we are both better humans in the mornings.  It does not always work.  We are not winging it, we actually enrolled in Epic Charter Schools which is a home based public school.  We have a teacher and she is great.  He has zoom calls and in person meetings with other students.  As an educational program we like it and we can see how given some time, he will gain some confidence and skills that he might have not had a chance to develop. We can hear him talking about some things we know he has learned in the last week.  So getting the work done in the mornings helps us. 

We drive a lot.  We have bets this week as to how many miles we put on my tiny car. I think it will be close to 500 while Espen thinks 300.  It is a concentrated choice we made to keep him involved in activities.  We live pretty far from said things.  So the drive is for band, wrestling and other educational extras that keep him involved and surrounded by people making healthy choices.  

This is not a punishment so we try to find the opportunity in all the things.  Some days there are happy opportunities and some days we cry.  

Because Espen is not a self motivated self starter, he has to have his grown up with him when there is work to be done.  Which means I sit with him for the duration of the activity.  Not ideal for my tiny business.  I have not complained much yet.  It requires me to be very focused about what I am working on.  It requires me to utilize my short blocks of time to the best of my creative ability. It requires me to dig deep when I am tired and find energy to throw pieces so that the deadlines I have made can be met.  

None of us are ever alone.  There is always noise (because apparently Espen makes a lot of noise but he & Doug like to have tv/music on nearly all the time while I am fine with quiet).  We are tired from driving during the week that we don't make plans on the weekend so that we have some unplanned down time. 

There is a certain level of loneliness I can't find a way to alter.  Peers are busy and engaged.  We are busy and doing our best.  Espen does a fantastic job of introducing himself and being in the moments but he misses his peer group.  I have not found a regular and consistent way for him to engage.  It is a work in progress.  The other side of that is that I don't want him left out of social engagements and I don't want him to be isolated and alone if I leave or engage.  Mom guilt weighs heavy on me.  So I work to alter the lonely moments.  

Even on the worst days we try to find things to be thankful for ... this too will pass and he will come out on the other side with stories to tell and educational confidence.