Another year is about over, and I see that I haven’t been here in quite some time.  Part of the problem that I’ve had in posting here is not knowing how personal this should be; part of the problem is not knowing exactly what to talk about.  The two problems are similar, but not quite the same.   I’m still not exactly sure, but I’m back for another try.

This last school semester has been good for my homeschooling ego.  My son started UL this semester, and ended up with a 4.0 GPA.  I was very happy, both for him and for myself.  Another child that I hadn’t ruined by homeschooling.  He’s making friends and making good grades–two things not necessarily linked for college students.

I am trying to reconcile the lessons that I’ve learned over the past (almost) 20 years of homeschooling with the image that I’d like to project.  I’d like to be seen as the uber-organized, tightly scheduled homeschooling mother who is never bothered by interruptions.  The mom who always gets everything done in the house and with schooling and never lets outside events compromise what needs to get done.  Instead, we are often interrupted.  There are some days when I look around and wonder what we did that wasted so many hours.

But both of my college student children have 4.0 GPAs (for the time being), and so what we actually do–as opposed to what I wish happened–seems more than suficient.  We cover the material that the schools cover (and sometimes more) and add in extra-curricular activities (this year dance, acting and voice classes, a full scale musical theatre production and a ballet, along with Girl Scouts).  We’re getting it done, even if it seems always to be a little breathless.

The question I have is whether or not any of the breathlessness is necessary.  Can “one” homeschool and be relaxed?  Is it a part of homeschooling (at least for me) to have some part of my brain standing apart and worrying whether  we’re doing it right?   Will I ever be convinced in the moment that the education that my children are getting is enough?

Or is homeschooling just like the rest of life, where you never see the answers to the test until after the test is done? 

Posted: December 29th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
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I started to title this post “I love my math books”, but then I realized that the books weren’t mine (which is probably at least a small part of why I love them).  But “Life of Fred” for geometry is wonderful.  My daughter actually said that she thought it was a trick to get her to like math.  She is enjoying it and that is a first for us!

Singapore Math is also working out for my little one.  It’s colorful and moves at just the right pace–not so fast that she can’t keep up and not so slow that she get bored.  I like it so much that I have now ordered the Singapore Science.  I hope that it is as good as the math program.

And my son is loving UL.  He’s had a half week now, and it’s going really well.  Every time one of my children is succeeding in an academic setting, I am grateful that my kids are bright and interested and do well in whatever situation they find themselves in.

It’s a great start to a new school year.

Posted: August 27th, 2008 under Resources, emotions.
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Tomorrow is the second and (so far) final NBTSB.  This time we’re going to a park for a “bring your own breakfast” picnic.  This is probably going to be the bigger event, since I think that parents with younger children might be moe comfortable at a park rather than in a restaurant.

Here on the home front, I’ve chosen to add 2 new math programs:  Life with Fred (geometry) for Martha and Singapore Math for Annette.   I’ve never been really unsatisfied with Saxon (except for the K-3 program), but it was time for a change for me and, therefore, for the kids.  I’m looking forward to seeing the programs, because I’ve heard a lot of great things about both of these.

One of the things that I want to work on this year is diversity for my kids–but more on that later.

Posted: August 14th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
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Well, this morning’s Not Back To School Breakfast was an unmitigated success.  The kids had a great time and the moms got a chance to visit and even begin to plan field trips for the coming year.  It looks like we’re underway!

Posted: August 8th, 2008 under celebration.
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Tomorrow is the first of our Not Back to School Breakfasts.  We are really looking forward to getting together with our friends and celebrating the fact that our schooling is part of our family lives and isn’t compartmentalized.  We’ll meet this week at a local restaurant and then next week, when more people can come, we’ll meet at a park for a BYOB(reakfast) picnic.

Our children feel a little sad for the kids in school who don’t get to do this.

Posted: August 7th, 2008 under Uncategorized, celebration.
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I can’t believe how long it’s been since I last updated.  The summer has been really busy (why do I still think that summer=vacation for me), and time has gotten away from me.

My two older girls spent a week in New York while Martha attended a dance intensive at the Alvin Ailey Studio.  Beverly Spell’s Lafayette Ballet Studio went and Martha in particular loved being in New York again and getting to see a couple of shows and feel the energy of the big city.

Then we went on a family trip to Washington, DC.  None of our family (including my husband or myself) had ever been to the capital, and it was a surreal experience.  All our our lives we had seen pictures of the buildings in which the political power of the United States is concentrated, and actually seeing them was amazing. 

Now we’re home again, and the time has come to start gearing up for the beginning of the school term.  I’ll have 2 in college this year, and there are things that need to be done for that.  Then I need to finalize the curriculum for the 2 still at home.  I’ve pretty much got everything I need for Annette (the younger of the two), but I’m still tweaking Martha’s books. 

It’s also time for letters/forms to the state DOE to comply with the registration laws, but that won’t take any time at all. 

The Magnolia group is also gearing up for the year.  Plans are already in the works for monthly meetings at the public library and get togethers are being planned.  It going to be a busy month or so until we’re all finished with the beginning of the year.

Off to get some actual work done–I’ll be back with more specific posts about curriculum and all soon.

Posted: August 4th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
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Take a look at the story in the Lafayette Daily Adertiser about the new homeschool sports league that is being formed in the area, and make sure you look at the comments.  It’s really frustrating that the law in Louisiana forces homeschool families to re-invent the wheel in every area of life.  It doesn’t make any sense that the public school system keeps our children (the children of tax paying parents, let me add) out of extra-curricular activities.

My children aren’t being kept out of the system because I am afraid of it.  My children are at home for school because I feel like they can be offered some extra things here.  That doesn’t mean that I don’t want to be able to take advantage of some things. 

The decision about things like the gifted and talented programs is left up to the individual school boards and the employees of the school board.  But the attitude that I have run into is along the lines of what I would expect from children–if you want to take anything from the cafeteria, you have to take everything.  Why? 

Essentially, the school boards of our state, charged with the education of our children, write off the children of people who make decisions that are not the norm.  For myself, I would be willing to pay extra for my children to have the opportunity to participate in the musical theatre productions of the local high schools.  But I am not given the option of doing that in Louisiana.

Like I said, it’s frustrating.

Posted: July 2nd, 2008 under opportunities, relationships with schools.
Comments: 1

This past Saturday was the graduation ceremony for my son.  I have to say that it went incredibly well.  I introduced him (and his accomplishments) to the gathering of his friends that he had invited.  His sisters then sang a song (I Hope You Dance) that he had chosen, which made me cry–just like it had every time they rehearsed it.  Then one of his teachers and mentors gave a short, but very moving, commencement address that had me in tears.  Then we had another sweet and short address by another ones of the people whom he most respects in the world.  Then he gave a speech that had his sisters and me all in tears.  Then we just celebrated the end of one stage of his life and the beginning of the next.

It was wonderful, and exactly what Joseph wanted.  One of the beauties of homeschooling is that you can always create the exact ceremony that you want, instead of having to fit into the school’s version of what a graduation should be.

He is leaving our homeschool now to begin again at UL. 

Posted: June 9th, 2008 under celebration, emotions.
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Posted: June 1st, 2008 under emotions.
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This is the week where we make the final preparations for Joseph’s graduation.  We are trying to “formalize” the party that we had planned as just a celebration by including a couple of people to talk about him and graduation in general, and having Ruth and Martha perform a song in his honor.  I think it’s going to go pretty nicely, except that we’ve got a lot of work to do to get our house ready to receive the guests who are going to join us to celebrate this (sort of ) rite of passage.

I will only have two at home this coming year.  That in itself will be a major change for me.  And the two who are left are at very different stages in their educational journey–one will be in the ninth/tenth grade and the other in first/second grade.   I’m not sure what changes we will be making in our structure, but I’m sure that there will be some changes upcoming. 

I am thinking about the changes that will come to my son now that he is starting college.  I know that it will be very different for him–and will require him to learn some things that he doesn’t have a lot of experience with (like taking notes).  I’m sure that he will be all right, but it does make me nervous that there might be lacks in his education that I have created or failed to bridge.  He has always amazed me, though, by exceeding the (high) expectations that I have for him and doing really well when I was not confident.

One more starting a new stage of life.  It hasn’t been that long since he was too little to do school work.  Now he’ll be in college.  And another child to practice the easing into the parenting of an adult on.  I hope that I do as well as that as he will in college.

Posted: June 1st, 2008 under emotions, opportunities.
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