Decisions

Since our hs'ing journey started I followed all the typical steps. I got into a K-12 program locally so I wouldn't miss anything and because I wasn't sure where to start. It is quite overwhelming at first. My boys got to the point halfway through the yr where they really disliked k-12. We were going to do it on our own but I chickened out and went half-time with k-12. Honestly we really didn't do it. Although I clicked off the subjects like a robot saying well we did this today on our own in our own way we just didn't do k-12 books or whatever. Colin did love doing the Art and actually still remembers a lot of the stuff. Conner loved the field trips they put together but that was it.

This yr again there is talk of going it alone. Or I thought about trying another online school that is local here called Branson. The thing about that school is that they are quite involved and call at least once a week. Hmmm I'm not so sure although if I can't explain something then this might help, I like that option. Here is the catch they do a lot of it online. They send no books, if you want to print a worksheet or reading material they have you can do so or you can go buy it but otherwise it's done online. There will be the obvious reading, science experiments, writing and worksheets for math that they will obviously not be doing online but other than that I gather the rest is. I only have one computer. Plus that is an awful amount of time in front of the computer.
I suppose we could give it a try and if it doesn't work for us then we just dis enroll the problem with that is by the time you figure that out you are well into the school yr and then it almost feels like you are starting all over. It is very disruptive to my school yr.

Then comes that niggling feeling that if I do it on my own that I will miss something and of course even more daunting is having to put it together on my own. Last yr we did a few lapbooks and I found that they were great especially if you did them across the curriculum they would cover everything, mostly. I really liked the idea of studying something intensely for about 2 weeks and covering all the subjects- math, reading, writing, science, social studies, history and art. I was immediately hooked of course I am a scrapbooker so it is no surprise I love it. My kids really liked it too but towards the end of the school yr Colin was beginning to ask "Another lapbook, groan". I told him the alternative was the wonderful stack of books and doing assignments in each and it not really being tied together so making them less memorable. I'm not sure he believed me.

The two older boys are in middle school this yr, with Colin entering 6th grade. So I wonder if perhaps they are getting a bit 'old' for lapbooks?????? I looked into notebooking and really liked that idea since it is essentially the same concept except you can continue to add to it when you restudy said subject. Then I came across a great idea, someone (genius) put lapbooks and notbeooks together, oh what was it called........oh got it lap-n-note (I think). It puts a little of the cutsie fun stuff into notebooking. How fantastic is that. But can I really do an entire yr of school based on these ideas and how do I project that into a sensible curriculum that makes me feel good about what I am teaching my children and that I am not letting them down (screwing them up). I have alot of ideas from our summer that could really cover alot of across the curriculum stuff and alot of the school yr. Is it enough?

I would still keep their math books. I would integrate all the rest. We could do all sorts of writing projects for all of them, try a couple experiments of nature walks or such , uncover the history and the relevance to the world. I mean the list goes on. All in this compact little unit that relates to everything they are doing for 2 weeks integrating it all. Can I really base my hs on such ideas and will they encourage my kids to learn and want to learn and learn how to learn so they can learn for the rest of their lives??? (phew that is 5 "learns" I counted) What happens if they go back to ps one day and find they didn't learn this or that and come home mom why didn't you teach me that or the teacher frowns upon my "experimenting on my young children's minds without proper education for myself to teach them 'properly' ". Yes I know in ps there are plenty of kids who can't remember from yr to yr gobs of stuff . In my case though I bet it would be construed as part of the problem of hs'ers. When we all fully know it's not.

Okay now that I got off track, again, Austin is also supposed to join us this yr again. I have mixed feelings on this. We have seen Austin change in many different ways as he is transitioning into a young man. Some of those changes have been good and even fun while others have us in the grips of anger, sadness and loss for words. We feel it is due to the influences of his peers. Or is it? Could it perhaps be that he is turning 13 this yr and well a lot is changing for him and he needs to figure out how to work that all into who he is. I feel like I have hs glasses on and see the awful effects on my baby from that ps. And I can't take the glasses off, I see things very differently now then when my kids were in ps. I'm not suggesting I am perfect and fixed it all and we have no problems I'm just saying that now I can fix the problems sooner then when they were in public school and I had to wait around for a teacher to say there is a problem. By which time the problem has been there for some time. Then we have to talk a plan of action and such and try to coordinate our schedules and then something might get done to solve said problem. Sorry have gone off on yet another tangent. So are Austin's behaviors those of the transition into teenager or are they that of his peers. What happens when Austin goes back to ps, will he be asked to smoke? do drugs? pressured to have sex? I cringe at all this and want to put him into a protective bubble to ensure no wrong will ever find him. Since that will not actually happen I must plan other options. Hs him is number 1. A friend said this the other day when we were discussing this subject (sort of). "Alot of mom's do hs for the early yrs and then when high school comes around they let their kids finish school 'properly'. I think if you are going to hs then high school is when you want to do it, because that's when they make bad decisions and get into trouble". Now this is not word for word but you get the idea. And that idea struck a cord in me that rang so very true. Yet when I look at Austin he seems to not like the idea of hs'ing again. He only did it that first yr when we were with K-12 and it was all miserable very hectic.
It was not a good yr to base a decision on if you liked hs. This yr would be different especially if we did it on our own. My hope is he would like it but if not I would of course consider letting him go back to ps.

Some big decisions to make and not sure how to sift through it and come out a winner.

Vanessa