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FALL 2020
HOMESCHOOL IOWA 9
I
don’t consider myself the “typical”homeschool mom. In fact, I nev-
er wanted to be home with my kids at all! I would say things like,
“I
love my kids, but I need my time away just as much.” “I applaud all the
mamas that can stay home! I could never do that!” “I need to pursue my
career.” “I could never do a good enough job teaching my kids at home.
I’m not a teacher!”
At the same time, I wanted to be involved in their education. I want-
ed to have the ability to go to the school functions, be on the PTA, be
able to manage drop-off and pick-up without having to worry about
wrap-around care, etc. That was extremely hard in the corporate
world, so I started a side hustle as a wellness consultant hoping that
one day it could be a full-time gig for me. Even at this point, home-
schooling was not something I seriously considered.
in January of 2019, my husband received a promotion that moved us
from Des Moines, IA to Kansas City, MO, six hours away from my old-
est son who lived with his dad during the school year. As we settled
into life in our new city, I started thinking about what life six hours
away from my oldest would look like as he got older if we stayed in
Kansas City. He was about to turn 14 and was very involved in sports
and other school activities. My desire to be involved in his life was still
there, but I knew that it would be difficult.
Wanting flexibility is what led me to consider homeschooling. If we
could do school anytime and anywhere, we could travel to see my
family, my husband’s family, and my oldest son without the younger
kids having to miss days of school and fall behind. However, I was
still reluctant, knowing that I would need to quit my job in order to
homeschool. I like working, and we enjoyed our two-income lifestyle.
Then life threw us another curveball. My husband’s company took
on a new contract and asked if he would be up for yet another move,
back to Iowa! Praise the Lord; right!? My husband’s new assignment
had us living within 90 minutes of my oldest son. Our cost of living
would be lower. And with the additional room in our budget, I could
quit working a corporate job, the little ones could be enrolled in the
local school in Iowa, and I could pursue my dreams: working on my
side hustle and turning it into a full-fledged business. I thought 2020
was going to be my year!
My husband started his new position in Feb 2020. Then the kids
and I followed in mid-March, right as the pandemic was shutting
down the world. I had been working hard to line up networking op-
portunities, coffee dates, and making plans to growmy business after
we moved. We were moving during Spring Break to give us a few days
to settle in, but then I was sending the kids off to school. I had work to
do, and I was excited to see my business take off and grow!
But Spring Break was extended, and then school remained closed
even longer, and finally closed for the remainder of the school year.
To say that I was devastated may be an understatement. All of my
plans had to be cancelled. All of the
goals I had for myself were not being
met and felt out of reach. I was stuck
in a new house, in a new city, with no
friends, and nowhere to go because
everything was closed. I felt lost.
I would try to work on my business
but would either feel guilty for not
spending time with the kids or would
be constantly interrupted by them
asking questions, needing my help, or
needing to break up yet another argu-
ment about who had the toy or whose
turn it was to choose a show on Netf-
lix. All of my pre-conceived fears about
being a stay-at-home momwere com-
ing to life, and the doubts started
playing over and over in my mind.
This
is why I could never be home with the
kids.
This
is why I could never home-
school. With the kids home, I cannot
get
anything
done, so why even try?
I started to withdraw from my kids
and my husband. I started to let my
health fall by the wayside. I was snap-
ping at the kids over the smallest of
son. Why not talk about the properties of gravity and water while you
clean it up, along with responding to adversity with joy? Science, home
economics, and character building all in one lesson for the older kids!
Learning to clean up the big messes does take repetition, though. My
children were the lucky ones when, five years later, they were able to
use the skills they learned in the first clean up to help cleanup another
bathroom flooded by their youngest brother. They are now profession-
als and if you ever need a flooded bathroom cleaned up, feel free to
contact me.
Finally, safety skills are also important to learn! We teach our pre-
school children about fire safety, and they might get to meet a fire-
man or even look at a fire truck. My children, however, have always
been more hands-on learners. My oldest child has always been tall
for his age. Being tall has its advantages, but in some cases, it can
be hard. For safety reasons, things that children shouldn’t touch are
placed out of their reach. But when you are tall, those safety devices
can be at eye level and, oh, so tempting! After watching a riveting
volleyball game at my niece’s school one night, it was time to leave.
I was gathering up our things, making sure I had my two kids at the
time, Kaden, age 4, and Kora, age 2, while quite pregnant with Ken-
don. I was helping Kora, when all of a sudden the fire alarm went
off! I frantically tried to grab my kids to ensure their safety. While
the alarm blared and people rushed to help the elderly out of the
gym, I searched for my oldest. As I rounded the corner to look by the
entrance doors, there stood my oldest playing with the fire alarm.
It was very low on the wall, and the perfect height to engage my
child’s curiosity! I rushed around to tell the staff that a 4 year old was
the perpetrator and that there was no need to clear the gym. I then
grabbed the kids and our things and high-tailed it out of there (no,
we weren’t staying to see the fire truck come)! We had a nice lesson
about how fire alarms work and why we don’t pull themwithout per-
mission! Of course, in my family, one lesson is never enough, and 8
years later, the youngest was able to give us lesson number two after
he pulled the fire alarm in another school gym. More school lessons
followed for the whole family, and now people will realize why my
husband and I prefer to stay at home!
As you can see, homeschooling brings so many opportunities for
learning together as a family. There are so many wonderful things I
see come out of our years of being home together. I love the close
bond I see between my children. After all, they have been through a
lot together! I also love watching them learn! Most of all, I love seeing
God’s hand in our homeschool, whether learning or laughing. Home-
schooling truly is a gift!
Kelli serves homeschoolers across Iowa by volunteering as the chief Admin for our Homeschool Iowa Discussion
Group. Kelli is also very involved in her local homeschool community. She’s a mom of five, married for 21 years to a
great guy, and loves to find the everyday humor in life!
The Pandemic Helped Me Find Balance
BY STEPHANIE ZIMMERMAN
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