Before COVID-19, Alex and I had planned on sending Dakota to a local preschool for a couple hours a day, twice a week. She’s a bright girl who is eager to learn, but above all we wanted to give her the social interaction it was abundantly clear she craved and needed. The pandemic has forced us into a new reality. We are lucky in several ways, including the flexibility of my job so that I can continue to stay home with both girls, work part time, and now also homeschool them both.

Hello, my name is Christine and I am a Type-A overachiever. There was no half-assing this one. Ergo a full-fledged 5-day-a-week preschool curriculum developed from what I like best about Montessori, Waldorf and just plain old regular preschool — all customized to meet the individual needs and interests of Dakota and Nora.

I’ve learned a lot along the way: Dakota has the patience and concentration to sit and learn for long periods of time — only as long as I am by her side (more for companionship than needing direction). Nora – on the other hand – checks out at only a few minutes into most activities, preferring to climb all over mama during lessons, tear up Dakota’s beloved crafts, dismember every single laminated flash card I make, and consume copious amounts of Elmer’s glue. Oh, and five days a week is often asking too much of myself so it’s okay to take more time off to simply explore the world around us without regimen.

There’s no one size fits all for all families. I’m not a trained educator. I wouldn’t even dare to claim to know what I’m doing. But I’ll share here what we’ve found works for us.