A New Adventure

I've been so preoccupied that I haven't had the chance to blog about my new professional adventure! Let me share some background before I go into new details. After Emry was born I naturally developed a strong desire to be able to spend more time with her. It broke my heart knowing that someone else was able to spend 9 hours a day/ 5 days a week with her and I was left with weekends and about 2 1/2 hours in the evenings. Unfortunately, it isn't in our budget to have me quit work completely. A good friend of mine began teaching with the Lawrence Virtual School out of Lawrence, KS, last fall. Over the past year, she mentioned several times how much she enjoyed the job. It wasn't until this past June rolled around that I started asking her more questions about the job. After hearing all the wonderful aspects of the position and the flexibilty it offers students and staff members, I decided to go for it. By the end of July, I was convinced nothing was going to come of it and I took that as a sign from God that it wasn't meant to be for our family. To my surprise, I received a call on August 1st to come in for an interview the following day (Aug. 2nd), and was offered the position August 5th. My former employer was very gracious and let me out of my contract with no issues. It was a bittersweet decision because Shoal Creek was all I've ever known since graduating college but I couldn't pass up this opportunity.

My new job title is K-2 Education Specialist. Basically, I am a liason for families who homeschool with the K12 program which is an online curriculum offered to our students who are homeschooled across the state of Kansas. I work with general ed students who are in kindergarten-second grade. Besides answering any questions my families have, I work with each student several times a month in my virtual classroom. We practice various skills and I check their progress in each content area. The beauty is that I am able to work from home except for one monthly onsite staff meeting in Lawrence.

Right now, Emry is going to daycare one day a week, which means she's with me 6 days! This is the opportunity I've been searching for because I am able to stay connected with the world of education AND spend more time with Emry and soon-to-be new baby. I'm learning a lot and staying SUPER busy and despite stressful moments, I know this is the best thing for our family. I feel so blessed that God has led me down this path. Quality time spent with our children is priceless!