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You are here: Home / Homeschooling / How We Ended Up Homeschooling (Even Though I Swore I’d Never)

How We Ended Up Homeschooling (Even Though I Swore I’d Never)

17.04.25 | Josselyn | 1 Comment

First, let me say—I never had any intention of homeschooling. I was a public school kid and turned out “just fine.” At least according to me! But then again, I also never planned to be a mom raising kids in the Virgin Islands either. And yet… here we are.

Both of my children attended a private nursery school, which was an amazing introduction to school life. We were incredibly lucky. My son jumped straight from the toddler class into Pre-K 4, skipping Pre-K 3 altogether. He started Kindergarten at 4. My daughter skipped the toddler class entirely and went into Pre-K 3 at age 2. She potty trained herself in two weeks—she had no time for toddler activities. She knew where she wanted to be and made it happen. #bossbabe

When it came time to choose the next step, we had a few options. My daughter could stay another year and do Kindergarten at age 4, or we could send her to the same school my son would attend.

But here’s where it got tricky: Because of my son’s birthday, he would have to repeat Kindergarten, regardless of whether it was public or private school. I talked it over with his teacher (who’s amazing), and she agreed—while boys often develop a bit slower, he was more than ready for 1st grade. He would be bored repeating material he already knew. Unfortunately, the system doesn’t care about readiness—only age.

And then there’s my daughter. Let’s just say if we tried to make her repeat preschool, we’d have a full-on rebellion. This girl is adding and subtracting for fun and she’s not even in Kindergarten yet.

So, we took a step back and asked: what if we stopped trying to fit them into a system that wasn’t built for them?

Here in the Virgin Islands, homeschool pods (or co-ops) are actually pretty common. We looked into starting one ourselves, focused on first grade and Kindergarten-level work. I talked to tons of parents, had meetings, explored ideas—but it all started to feel like we were forcing something that didn’t fit. We had never homeschooled before. Were we really ready to start a school, hire a teacher, and take on that kind of structure?

And even more importantly—if we’re all following the same curriculum, are we actually meeting each child where they are? Or are we just recreating the classroom at home?

That’s when we scratched the idea completely and chose a simpler path: just homeschool our two kids at home, with me as their teacher. And once we made that decision? It clicked. But now what? Where do we go from here? 

And the big question:
What curriculums do we choose? Check out our next post here!

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#kindergartencurriculum #homeschoolcurriculum #firstgradecurriculum 
Hello everyone!
In this video, we are talking about our family curriculum picks for Kindergarten and First Grade for our first year of homeschooling! We are going on some fun adventures and I’m so excited to share them with you! 

*Blossom and Root Great Space Adventure - https://www.blossomandroot.com/level-0

* Build Your Library Level 0 - https://buildyourlibrary.com/purchase-level-0-curriculum/

* Homeschool Languages Spanish Level 1 - https://www.homeschoollanguages.com/product-page/spanish-print-at-home-curriculum?srsltid=AfmBOoru3SPc-SX-ma5QfE1RLQfUFfDui2FfPnyUolmjvhYUkZPIBeIe



*****Videos Mentioned***** 
Individual Curriculum Picks for Kindergarten & First Grade | First Time Homeschoolers
ChatGPT Helped Pick Our Homeschool Curriculum! How Facebook & YouTube Played a Role, Too!



This is my brand-new channel and I'm SO EXCITED to be here and share our journey with you!
👉 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe so you don’t miss anything! See you soon!


💻CONNECT with me 💻

📧 CONTACT EMAIL → thebirdsnestvi@gmail.com
🌐 BLOG → wwww.thetravelingesprit.com


***This video is not sponsored. All opinions are my own. Some links may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them—at no extra cost to you. I only share resources we truly use and love in our homeschool! Thank you for supporting my channel!

FTC Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.
COPPA Disclaimer: This video is intended for parents and educators and is not made for children.
Family Subjects Kindergarten & 1st Grade | Come on an Adventure with us! | 2025-2026 Curriculum Pick
#kindergartencurriculum #homeschoolcurriculum #firstgradecurriculum
Hey everyone!
I'm so excited to finally share our kindergarten and first grade individual subject picks for the 2025-2026 school year! 

*What curriculum are YOU using this year? Let me know in the comments!*

Materials mentioned: 

* Carson Dellosa Prekindergarten Workbook – https://a.co/d/0iTyooH  

* Kindergarten Math With Confidence – https://a.co/d/gVqOADF  
* First Grade Math With Confidence – https://a.co/d/c9SF0oC  

* Crayola Glitter & Pearl Crayon Set – https://a.co/d/0yoBwi0  

* Engineer Academy – https://a.co/d/2vwaYXT  

* Get Ready, Get Set, Go for the Code (A, B & C) – https://a.co/d/8qAMnj8  
* Explode the Code Set 1–4 – https://a.co/d/9zI1kpE  

* Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons - https://a.co/d/577iEB9

HANDWRITING WITHOUT TEARS:
* Kickstart Kindergarten – https://amzn.to/4jI5SKM  
* Letters & Numbers for Me – https://amzn.to/3RDggr9  
* Slate Chalkboard – https://shopping.lwtears.com/product/slate-chalkboard/01t4V000007a2ayQAA  
* Little Chalk Bits – https://shopping.lwtears.com/product/little-chalk-bits/01t4V000007a2cZQAQ  
* Blackboard with Double Lines – https://shopping.lwtears.com/product/blackboard-with-double-lines/01t4V000007a2bgQAA  


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💛 This is my brand-new channel and I’m SO EXCITED to share our homeschool journey with you!  
👉 Don’t forget to **like, comment, and subscribe** so you don’t miss anything.  

---

💻 CONNECT WITH ME:

📧 EMAIL → thebirdsnestvi@gmail.com  
🌐 BLOG → https://www.thetravelingesprit.com  

---

**DISCLAIMER:**  
This video is not sponsored. All opinions are my own. Some links may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them—at no extra cost to you. I only share resources we truly use and love in our homeschool. Thanks for supporting my channel!  

**FTC Notice:** As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  
**COPPA Disclaimer:** This video is intended for parents and educators and is not made for children.
Individual Curriculum Picks for Kindergarten & First Grade | First Time Homeschoolers
#thegoodandthebeautiful  #homeschoolcurriculum #kindergartencurriculum 
Hello everyone! 
In this video, I’m talking about why The Good and the Beautiful Kinder Prep and Level K language arts isn't a great fit for our first year of homeschooling. 

*www.goodandbeautiful.com*

This is my brand-new channel and I'm SO EXCITED to be here and share our journey with you!
👉 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe so you don’t miss anything! See you soon!


💻CONNECT with me 💻

📧 CONTACT EMAIL → thebirdsnestvi@gmail.com
🌐 BLOG → wwww.thetravelingesprit.com


***This video is not sponsored. All opinions are my own. Some links may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them—at no extra cost to you. I only share resources we truly use and love in our homeschool! Thank you for supporting my channel!

FTC Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.
COPPA Disclaimer: This video is intended for parents and educators and is not made for children.
Why we said "No" to the Good and the Beautiful Language Arts for Kindergarten and First Grade
In this video, I’m sharing my honest fears as a mom new to homeschooling. From deschooling myself to worrying about balance, losing my "me time," and the pressure to make everything magical — am I crazy for going down this path?!

I see all the shiny, beautiful homeschool videos on YouTube and wonder… what if my homeschool journey is just a hot mess?

If you're feeling overwhelmed or unsure about homeschooling too, you’re not alone. 

Chime in below — what’s your biggest homeschooling fear right now?

New here? I’m an island mom homeschooling my little ones and figuring it out one day at a time.
Will Homeschool Just Be a Hot Mess? | Confessions on Deschooling, Expectations & Losing "Me" Time
Hey everyone! Welcome back! 👋
In today’s video, I’m breaking down the exact steps (using ChatGPT,  Curriculum websites, Facebook, and YouTube) I took to choose our homeschool curriculum for the 2025–2026 school year.

📌 My ChatGPT Prompt (feel free to copy and tweak!):
“I would like to create a homeschooling pod for kindergarten and first graders. There will be individual subjects like math and language arts and group subjects like social studies and science. It can be religious but I do not want to teach religious content. I would like to focus on human kindness and emotional intelligence at this age instead. We will incorporate cooking, gardening, and we also have chickens and a yard for the kids to play in. It can have online components, but it will not be an online curriculum. We can pay for the curriculum. Please incorporate math, language arts, social studies, art, science. We have visual learners as well as kinesthetic learners.”

📄 Helpful Curriculum Resource
Rainbow Resource Curriculum Planning Guide:
👉 https://www.rainbowresource.com/pdfs/resources/FamilyWay_Curriculum.pdf
https://www.rainbowresource.com/pdfs/resources/FamilyWay_Curriculum.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOoo8HUuIcr68FuzIYR5XTx59NOVLNQdKA9kWaGOZx8ao_d76OkM7

📝 More Info on My Blog
If you're a new homeschooler, I’ve written more about my curriculum research process here:
👉 https://thetravelingesprit.com/choosing-our-first-homeschool-curriculum-tools-for-new-homeschoolers/
ChatGPT Helped Pick Our Homeschool Curriculum! How Facebook & YouTube Played a Role, Too!
Hey there! I'm Joss — city girl turned island mom, homeschooler, and accidental farm girl living in the Virgin Islands. On this channel, I'm sharing our journey — the good, the messy, and everything in between — with a little sunshine and sarcasm along the way.

Hit subscribe and come hang out! And if you’re a fellow homeschooler, say hi in the comments — I’d love to connect.
How We Ended Up Homeschooling | Our story!! Quick Introduction to US!
#handwritingwithouttears #homeschoolcurriculum #kindergartencurriculum 
Hello everyone!
In this video, I’m comparing the first three levels of Handwriting Without Tears to help you really see and choose which level is right for your kiddo!

* Kickstart Kindergarten – https://amzn.to/4jI5SKM
* Letters & Numbers for Me – https://amzn.to/3RDggr9
* My Printing Book – https://amzn.to/3RHTyy6

This is my brand-new channel and I'm SO EXCITED to be here and share our journey with you!
👉 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe so you don’t miss anything! See you soon!


💻CONNECT with me 💻

📧 CONTACT EMAIL → thebirdsnestvi@gmail.com
🌐 BLOG → wwww.thetravelingesprit.com


***This video is not sponsored. All opinions are my own. Some links may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them—at no extra cost to you. I only share resources we truly use and love in our homeschool! Thank you for supporting my channel!

FTC Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.
COPPA Disclaimer: This video is intended for parents and educators and is not made for children.
Handwriting Without Tears KickStart Kindergarten, Letters & Numbers for Me, & My Printing Book
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