A mum is homeschooling her children because she's "too scared" to put them in a conventional classroom - over school shooting fears.
Alexia Delarosa, 30, says the "crazy" amount of attacks in the US has put her off sending Archer, three, and Arlo, one, to school.
She started homeschooling in August 2023 and has vowed to keep them away from the public school system - at least until high school.
There has been at least 69 school shootings in the US so far this year, as of October 28, according to CNN.
Alexia, a homemaker, said: "So many terrible things happen at schools. It is crazy the amount of shootings we have.
"That alone is enough to deter putting my children in an environment where that could happen.
"It is devastating when it happens; how is it continuing to happen.
"It could happen at any school. It's scary and I am not willing to send my children into that environment.
"It has a lot to do with the state of the world - safety is a big factor."
Alexia says she and husband Matthew Delarosa, a coffee shop owner, 38, were both educated in the public school system.
They had conversations before Archer was born, and realised they wanted him to stay away from the classroom.
Alexia decided she wanted to be a hands-on parent so now devotes her time to her family, who live in San Diego, California.
She said: "I never felt comfortable with the idea of sending them somewhere for seven hours a day.
"I didn't want them to be in the hands of adults and be around other kids that I didn't know - that seems scary to me.
"We both decided that homeschooling would be the best option for us.
"They are both pre-school age. We have started getting them into a routine for homeschooling".
Alexia started homeschooling just two months ago.
She said her family were sceptical at first and wondered how long it would last, but have become "supportive".
Alexia said: "Myself and my husband both grew up in the public school system. We had a very normal upbringing.
"Our family has been very supportive but we did get a lot of 'ok let's see how long that lasts'.
"Here it is so normal to send your kid off to a play centre when they are two.
"They go off with another adult as soon as they are able to."
Alexia says she "loves" homeschooling and both her children are thriving.
She said: "I have so much fun with it. I think a lot of it is the planning and being intentional about what you're doing.
"The curriculum is themed weeks.
"We did pumpkin week this week - all the activities have been based around pumpkins, taking out the seeds and thinking about what we can do with them.
"In that, they are learning motor skills, being creative and being out in the world.
"A lot of activities I encourage are cooking and baking in the kitchen.
"Whatever the theme is I will come up with recipes that encourage that."
Alexia said she plans to always homeschool her children - but her husband would be happy for them to go to high school.
She said: "I would rather they didn't. When we get to those higher levels of education we could have a tutor come in and teach them.
"Or there are homeschooling groups that get together. I would rather go that route."
According to the National Center for Education Statistics in the years 2021-2022, there was a total of 327 shootings in the US.
Of those shootings, 188 ended with casualties and 57 deaths.
The deadliest school shooting in the US happened in April 2007, at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia.
23-year-old student Seung Hui Cho killed 32 students and staff in two separate attacks on campus.
In total, 33 people died and 23 people were injured.
HOMESCHOOLING SCHEDULE
7am - wake up and have breakfast
7:30am - finished breakfast and have free playtime
9:30am - start homeschooling
12pm - have lunch
1:30pm - nap
3:30pm - wake up from nap
5pm - have dinner
6:30pm - bath
7:30pm - go to bed
Alexia Delarosa, 30, says the "crazy" amount of attacks in the US has put her off sending Archer, three, and Arlo, one, to school.
She started homeschooling in August 2023 and has vowed to keep them away from the public school system - at least until high school.
There has been at least 69 school shootings in the US so far this year, as of October 28, according to CNN.
Alexia, a homemaker, said: "So many terrible things happen at schools. It is crazy the amount of shootings we have.
"That alone is enough to deter putting my children in an environment where that could happen.
"It is devastating when it happens; how is it continuing to happen.
"It could happen at any school. It's scary and I am not willing to send my children into that environment.
"It has a lot to do with the state of the world - safety is a big factor."
Alexia says she and husband Matthew Delarosa, a coffee shop owner, 38, were both educated in the public school system.
They had conversations before Archer was born, and realised they wanted him to stay away from the classroom.
Alexia decided she wanted to be a hands-on parent so now devotes her time to her family, who live in San Diego, California.
She said: "I never felt comfortable with the idea of sending them somewhere for seven hours a day.
"I didn't want them to be in the hands of adults and be around other kids that I didn't know - that seems scary to me.
"We both decided that homeschooling would be the best option for us.
"They are both pre-school age. We have started getting them into a routine for homeschooling".
Alexia started homeschooling just two months ago.
She said her family were sceptical at first and wondered how long it would last, but have become "supportive".
Alexia said: "Myself and my husband both grew up in the public school system. We had a very normal upbringing.
"Our family has been very supportive but we did get a lot of 'ok let's see how long that lasts'.
"Here it is so normal to send your kid off to a play centre when they are two.
"They go off with another adult as soon as they are able to."
Alexia says she "loves" homeschooling and both her children are thriving.
She said: "I have so much fun with it. I think a lot of it is the planning and being intentional about what you're doing.
"The curriculum is themed weeks.
"We did pumpkin week this week - all the activities have been based around pumpkins, taking out the seeds and thinking about what we can do with them.
"In that, they are learning motor skills, being creative and being out in the world.
"A lot of activities I encourage are cooking and baking in the kitchen.
"Whatever the theme is I will come up with recipes that encourage that."
Alexia said she plans to always homeschool her children - but her husband would be happy for them to go to high school.
She said: "I would rather they didn't. When we get to those higher levels of education we could have a tutor come in and teach them.
"Or there are homeschooling groups that get together. I would rather go that route."
According to the National Center for Education Statistics in the years 2021-2022, there was a total of 327 shootings in the US.
Of those shootings, 188 ended with casualties and 57 deaths.
The deadliest school shooting in the US happened in April 2007, at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia.
23-year-old student Seung Hui Cho killed 32 students and staff in two separate attacks on campus.
In total, 33 people died and 23 people were injured.
HOMESCHOOLING SCHEDULE
7am - wake up and have breakfast
7:30am - finished breakfast and have free playtime
9:30am - start homeschooling
12pm - have lunch
1:30pm - nap
3:30pm - wake up from nap
5pm - have dinner
6:30pm - bath
7:30pm - go to bed
Category
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FunTranscript
00:00 for another day of homeschooling my 42 month old
00:02 and a 21 month old.
00:03 I got started on breakfast right away.
00:04 I wanted to do something different today.
00:06 So we're having French toast roll-ups.
00:08 These were so easy to make.
00:09 The boys loved them.
00:10 They basically tasted like a cinnamon roll.
00:12 Once breakfast was ready, I got both the boys seated
00:14 and they enjoyed their breakfast.
00:15 I enjoyed my coffee before I got myself ready for the day.
00:18 And then we sat down for circle time.
00:19 Week is leaf week.
00:20 So all the activities are based around fall leaves.
00:22 We sang our good morning song
00:23 and went over everything on the agenda
00:25 before getting into our question of the day.
00:27 This one really stumped us
00:28 and we couldn't agree on a single answer.
00:30 So we just moved on to the next activity.
00:31 First up today, we did some leaf rubbing.
00:33 Gathered these leaves on a walk yesterday
00:35 and I just taped them to a table,
00:36 taped paper over that
00:37 and let the boys color over it with crayons.
00:39 And it revealed the pattern of the leaves.
00:41 It was really cool.
00:42 Next, we did some beeswax dipped leaves
00:44 to make a leaf garland.
00:45 Melted some beeswax in a double boiler,
00:47 dipped the leaves, laid them on parchment to dry
00:49 and then headed outside to get some fresh air,
00:51 collect some eggs before we came in for lunch
00:53 and then finished our garland.
00:54 This turned out so cute.
00:55 It was really easy.
00:56 I'm obsessed with how it looks
00:57 and I already wanna make more.
00:59 Before nap, I let Archer roll out some graham cracker dough
01:01 and practice cutting out shapes with the cookie cutter.
01:03 Of course, we had to do leaf shapes
01:05 and this will be their snack
01:06 when they wake up from their nap.
01:07 Back for another day of homeschooling
01:09 my 41 month old and 21 month old.
01:11 I got started on breakfast right away.
01:13 This morning, we're having apple cinnamon oatmeal.
01:15 Baby brother woke up as soon as breakfast was finishing.
01:17 So I sat the boys down, gave them their food
01:20 and the every single bite was so good.
01:22 Then I got myself ready as usual
01:23 before we sat down for circle time.
01:25 We sang our good morning song
01:26 and went over everything I had planned for the day.
01:28 The theme of this week is cleaning week.
01:30 So today's main activity was hand-washing laundry.
01:33 I thought this was a good opportunity
01:34 to clean their stuffed animals
01:35 that have been needing a good wash.
01:37 They had so much fun with this.
01:39 We laid everybody out to dry in the sun
01:40 so they would be nice and fresh later.
01:42 Then I went and grabbed some eggs for our baking activity.
01:45 Today we're making pumpkin streusel muffins and no joke,
01:48 these are probably the best muffins I have ever made.
01:51 Probably the best muffins I've ever had actually.
01:53 The spices were perfect and they were so light and fluffy.
01:55 I could not get enough.
01:56 While the muffins baked, the boys sat down and had lunch
01:59 before we headed to the room to wind down for nap.
02:01 Always read a couple of books,
02:02 then both the boys knocked out.
02:04 Arlo ended up waking up first and we sat down
02:06 and had some one-on-one time and enjoyed a muffin together.
02:09 And then I eventually had to go wake Archer up
02:11 because he was still sleeping and it was almost dinnertime.
02:14 Back for another day of homeschooling
02:15 my 42 month old and 21 month old.
02:17 I started on breakfast right away.
02:18 This morning we're having banana brulee
02:20 with a side of spooky cheesy eggs.
02:22 I got the boys fed, enjoyed my coffee,
02:24 got them ready for the day
02:25 before throwing in a load of laundry.
02:27 We always do this before we get our day going
02:28 otherwise it just starts to pile up.
02:30 Next I tidy both of the boys rooms
02:32 and get myself ready before we sit down for circle time.
02:34 We use this time to sing our good morning song
02:36 and go over everything we have planned for the day.
02:38 This week is pumpkin week
02:39 so all the activities are based around pumpkins.
02:41 The main focus for today is to build a pumpkin gnome house.
02:43 I cut the top off the pumpkin
02:44 then the boys had the task of scraping out all the seeds.
02:47 The last pumpkin you guys saw me cut open
02:48 had almost no seeds but this was my redemption pumpkin.
02:51 There were so many seeds.
02:52 Next I cut a door and some windows into our pumpkin house
02:54 and we went outside to forge for things
02:56 to decorate the pumpkin with.
02:57 We collected a bunch of flowers, leaves, and sticks
03:00 and then I painted the pumpkin in Vaseline
03:01 then let the boys just stick things wherever they wanted to.
03:04 This turned out so cute.
03:05 We put it on our front porch
03:06 and I'm gonna add a little light on the inside.
03:08 The boys had some free play time while I made lunch
03:10 and then we got into our question of the day.
03:12 A lot of you seem concerned
03:13 that I'm not actually teaching the boys anything
03:14 but they are required to turn in a 1,000 word essay
03:17 based on the question of the day.
03:18 Imperfect cursive so I don't wanna hear it anymore.
03:20 The pumpkin house took up a good chunk of our time
03:22 so we didn't have time for a baking activity today
03:24 so I'm just baking them something while they nap
03:26 so they have something yummy to wake up to.
03:28 I made pumpkin chocolate chip brownies
03:29 and Archer came out with his nose in the air.
03:31 They smelled so good and they were equally delicious.