Homeschool Report 1

We are entering (actually are 1/2 finished with our third week) of the great homeschool experiment. I have thought about posting many times over the past weeks and only just now made it to the computer.

What can I say? This homeschool thing is both easier and more difficult than I anticipated. It is easier because now I fight with Aiden about the math, writing, and reading work over a period of 4-5 hours. Previously all the frustration (on both sides) was packed into a 2-3 hour period after school but before soccer, dinner, and bedtime. I also feel that I have more control over the consequences of his inaction. I used to feel horrible about taking away his free time (read: obsessive LEGO playing) because I knew he'd used up all his energy just behaving in class. It was hard for him to sit and do the same (or very similar) tasks for 6 hours a day and then come home and do more of the same (or very similar) tasks. Now I KNOW that he has plenty of time to do the things he really likes because we complete all his work in a 4-5 hour window. Thus there is no homework. No homework = no fight and everybody wins.

Being a trained educator would make this ALMOST effortless and I have come to appreciate teaching's finer points. For example - I have no idea how to write a lesson plan. It's really fairly difficult especially if you have very little idea of what kids should be learning in kindergarten and third grade. I did print out the California state standards but those are a little foggy since they are written for... educators. In some areas my expectations are way too high and in others I underestimate my kids' ability. I also put in quite a bit of prep time both at night and first thing in the morning. I now fully appreciate how hard it is for teachers to both teach and babysit. I would hope that most school age kids would behave better than a two-year old but I believe there are similarities. Most probably don't need feeding or diaper changes (!!!) but kids who require a lot of attention are draining and distracting. Additionally (pun intended) I am afraid of math. I'm terrified that I am going to be resonsible for turning my boys into number idiots. Maybe it's genetic?

Now before you all get concerned about my kids' future and potential for menial labor, I do receive the advice and monitoring of a certified educator. She goes over my less-than-stellar lesson plans, looks at my kids' work, and asks them questions to ensure that they are learning something. They are also able to take classes that are not offered in regular school. I have both boys enrolled in Tae Kwon Do, music lessons, music appreciation, and grade level classes. I am doing my best to expose them to some Spanish (car tapes - Spanish works by osmosis right?), art, and science. We are trying to do field trips every week. Sean has learned how to write his name and knows most of the numbers 1 - 10. Aiden's reading and writing have vastly improved over last year and we are making progress in math. I think.

I have asked Aiden whether he prefers home-school over school-school(or as I like to call it - go away school) and he changes his mind every other day. Today he preferred home-school. Sean, very emphatically, prefers staying home. Weirdo. I do find that we are less rushed even though we're doing more, dinner is on the table by 5:30 more often, we don't go through Macaroni and Cheese like we own Kraft stock, and that there is A LOT less yelling. We have decided to give this home-school thing a year and then re-evaluate our choices. My main goal right now is to not lose ground.

Will home school come out on top? Will I be totally grey in June? Will I have four boys? You'll have to stay tuned - even I don't know the answers. Except the last one. I will have four boys. Definitely four boys. Phew. One out of three isn't too bad - 50% right? ;)