Hey

I’m going to maintain this blog for my kids.  These days, I have a terrible memory – so my hope is that I can write about this year and, someday, share with them my insights and interesting things that happened.  I am also writing it for friends, family and others who are interested in our year of homeschooling.

So that things stay manageable, I’m going to try to keep most of my future posts limited to one or two topics.  Here is what you need to know for now:

I have four children, ages nine, seven, four, and two  Up until now, two oldest have been enrolled in a parochial school that we very much liked and still like.  We did not leave the school because we had a problem with it!  Bridget is going into the fourth grade, and Lane is going into the second.  Lane is the same age as one of my nieces (my sister’s daughter), and they were in class together.

My niece is dealing with a medical situation, and is unable to attend school this year.

Because the children are very close, and for other practical and emotional reasons, we decided that all the kids would be homeschooled together.  My four-year-old, and my sister’s four-year-old will remain in a part-time nursery school program three days a week.

We are not using a homeschool program.  I assembled a curriculum on my own.  Much of what I procured was well-researched, and some of it (for topics I consider a little less essential, like handwriting), I just purchased on recommendations.

I am excited to homeschool, but I will miss our family at the kids’ traditional school.  My children will be missing out on some neat things, and, no doubt, friendships will fall to the wayside.  Although our intention is to return to school at some point, I know that choosing any form of education comes at a cost.  Homeschooling means a lack of school-type socialization, and traditional school means your kids are gone all day and you live on a very fixed schedule.  I am really looking forward to a year of not feeling like a “slave” to the school calendar, the homework, and the stupid projects.  I am looking forward to reconnecting with the kids, being able to take them places during times when other families are tied up in school, and sheltering them, a bit, from what can be the harshness of large groups of children.  I will not miss packing lunches.  I will not miss the rushed mornings.  I will not miss the grumpy pickups.  I will not miss bringing my kids home, only to sit on them to do their homework. What I will miss is seeing my friends at school, volunteering, hearing about the fun things my kids got to do in class, participating in school activities, and watching my children form friendships.

To be honest, at this point, I can’t wait for all the “regular” kids to return to school, so that I can take that opportunity to do things I’ve never done, because I hate crowds, and we’ve been too busy.  I look forward to being able to creep up to Christmas, rather than deal with the insanity of class plays, class parties, teachers’ gifts, etc. etc.  Since my kids have attended school, I’ve felt that they get “out” for Christmas break – and then in three seconds, it’s Christmas morning.  I am sure much of this is a pipe dream, but I am really looking forward to doing all the Christmasy stuff that I’ve never been able to squeeze in between plays, parties, and the stomach bug that invariably goes around campus in December.

School technically starts this week, but we’re taking it easy.  Thanks for reading!

Mo