Kate Gosselin Blames Pressure, 'Divorce Anger' for Kids' Expulsion

"The goal is to get them back into school as soon as possible," says the reality star

It’s been a rough couple of years for the Gosselins.

Two of the family’s eight children were recently expelled from school, but mom Kate Gosselin tells Entertainment Tonight that they’re keeping up with their lessons and “the goal is to get them back into school as soon as possible.”

Explaining what happened with Collin and Alexis, both 6, Kate says, “The pressure was getting to them. You have the divorce anger mixed in with that.”

Last year, Kate and Jon Gosselin, who starred in the TLC reality series Jon and Kate Plus 8, went through a high-profile and contentious divorce after 10 years of marriage.

“The kids are going through a challenging time,” a source told PEOPLE earlier this month. But the two Gosselin children who left school are still progressing and doing their daily work with a teacher who “is working closely with our kindergarten teachers in school, doing the identical curriculum,” adds Kate.

As for how the family, which includes twins Cara and Mady and sextuplets Alexis, Hannah, Leah, Aaden, Collin and Joel, will spend the holidays, Kate says they will divide time between parents.

“We have been able to work out the holiday time peacefully,” she says. “So I will have the first half, he will have the second half, and, we just take it year by year, and holiday by holiday.”

A new Kate Plus Eight special airs this Sunday on TLC.