Home Schooling ... Conclusions

As many of you know this year I choose to home school my big boy and subsequently my little one as well. Through out the year I have come to several conclusions on the the subject of home schooling; 1. The

Honeymoon Phase: Excitement filled my heart the day that I received all the material for the our K12 2nd grade program. The weekend before the "first day of school" I sat on couch and filled out a detailed teachers assignment log listing out what I was going to accomplish that week. I had read through all the assignments course material and charted a course that I believed would work for everyone including music class Spanish class and art class. My hopes were high and dreams big. - By the end of the first day I took one look at my teachers log and pretty much trashed it! - Art class was a joke, I had no time or patience to teach my children piano and "Dora The Explorer" know about as much Spanish as my 4 year old.

CONCLUSION 1: NO AMOUNT OF PREPARATION WILL READY YOU TO TEACH PRESCHOOL, 2ND GRADE AND RUN A NURSERY, CAFEATERIA, GYM, MUSIC HALL, SUNDAY SCHOOL AND ART ROOM.

CONCLUSION 2: REALITY WILL HIT YOU LIKE A TON OF BRICKS, AND NO AMOUNT OF PREPARATION WILL SAVE YOU.

I managed to get though week 1 and still maintain an air of conposure.  As I prepared once again for week 2 I took a more realistic approach to the situation.  Piano was out there was no way I could devote an uniterupted 30 minutes to Micah with Jaydon and Chloe just waking up from their naps.  Art class via computer was a joke.  Telling Micah to look at a picture of landscapes and houses and then asking him to draw one was the equivilant to handing him a piece of paper and colors and giving him free time.  Yeah I got a cute picture of a house but that was about it.  Spanish had potential, though without a curriculm to outline a specific goal it was going to be interesting and work.

CONCLUSION 3: LOFTY GOALS AND TEACHING CHILDREN DO NOT GO HAND IN HAND.

Going into week four I had managed to set up a routine that flowed well including some much needed recesses and break times.  Spanish was still a subject that I felt I should teach though after three weeks the boys had barely memorize 1-10 even with my cute song and Spanish friendly videos.  By this time I had come to grips with what made Micah tick and what both boys really enjoyed.  I also found that Seasame Street was captivating to Jaydon and Chloe while Micah was not destracted by the sound. So upon entering the second quarter of school I had these major conclusion drawn:

CONCLUSION 4: "DORA THE EXPLORER DOES NOT TEACH SPANISH, HANDY MANNY DOES. IF YOU WANT A TV SHOW THAT TEACHES ALWAYS LOOK AT DISNEY CHANNEL.

CONCLUSION 5: MICAH THRIVES OFF A SCHEDULE!!!!

CONCLUSION 6: IT IS POSSIBLE TO SEPARATE MOM AND TEACHER.

CONCLUSION 7: FAVORITE SUBJECTS SUCH AS MATH AND SCIENCE SHOULD BE TAUGHT LATER IN THE DAY WHERE AS ENGLISH SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN THE MORNING WHILE MICAH'S MIND IS FRESH.

I would love to say that those were the only lessons that I had to learn in teaching because at this point everything was going really smoothly however it was right about now that the entire schooling took a huge shift.  Dad returned throwing everyone into a tailspin.  We had just managed to work daddy into the schedule when we had to take an impromptu trip to Oklahoma.  I had every intention int the world to continue schooling down there.  I mean isn't that the wonderful benefit of homeschooling...any time any place? Reality check!

CONCLUSION 8: YOU CAN TAKE THE SCHOOL OUT OF THE CLASSROOM BUT YOU CAN'T TAKE THE KID AND SCHOOL OUT AND EXPECT LEARNING TO BE ACCOMPLISHED.

CONCLUSION 9: SCHEDULE = SUCCSESS    CHAOS = FAILURE

My trip to Oklahoma took much longer than anticipated and while dad tried to keep up it was pretty pointless.

A not so new conclusion : dad cannot find his way around mom's stuff even with a map gps and compass.

CONCLUSION 10.5: KEEP UP WITH A TEACHERS LOG SO THAT DAD KNOWS WHAT IS GOING ON.

Things didn't get much better after I returned home as the next few weeks were devoted to packing and preparing for our move.  The entire month of December might as well have been a wash with the move and all.  School didn't restart in the Bowen household until the end of January.  It is April now and truthfully we have yet to get back to where we were back in October.  Truthfully my heart just isn't in it like it was not to mention it has been a nightmare trying to establish a school schedule around dad's work schedule when that changes every two to three weeks.

CONCLUSION 11: MOVING TO A NEW HOUSE IS LIKE CHANGING SCHOOLS.  NEW ENVIRONMENT NEW PRIORITIES AND NEW RULES.

 Luckily Micah has a passion for science and math so those subjects need very little leading from me.  English we struggle through through the K12 curriculum makes it easier.  I have began to use outside sources for teaching material such as a puzzle maker web site that I can create games with spelling words for Micah as well as Bill Nye Videos and homemade history games.  I have no doubt that we will finish out this school year in the next two months and that Micah will be ready for the third grade.  My doubts laying in my own sanity.  I mentioned to Jeremiah that I felt certain that any mother of more than two who willingly choose to home school must have a screw loose.

CONCLUSION 12: I HAVE A SCREW LOOSE!!!

Yep that's right through it all I am contemplating the prospect of continuing this coarse of schooling next year.  In  an effort to achieve the best schooling possible for my children Jeremiah and I enrolled them both in a charter school here in Texas unfortunately they have room for Jaydon next year but Micah is 59th in line on a waiting list where they are only on number 10.  There is a possibility that he will still get into this school though some how I don't foresee forty some people passing up the chance to enroll their children into this school.  The worst part is that if I don't leave Jaydon enrolled Micah will not have any better chances next year to attend. There is are a couple of public schools nearby though the district that were are in is not the one that we want to be in, ( long story).  The pros and cons sheet for both schools is roughly equal and more and more the decision to home school again seems to be the winning result.  Though I am concerned with the kids missing out on peer interaction I think truthfully the only reason that I don't want to entertain the idea of home schooling is that I don't want to be labeled a homeschool teacher.  Frankly it scares me!  It scares me to think that for the next seven years ( I will not homeschool them in highschool- hard limit) that I have no other purpose in life than to be a mom, teacher and house wife.  By no means do I see these rolls as being less valuable but I had seen myself starting to take on the roll as interior designer as well during those years. I am concerned that this course of action will back track my dreams of being something more.

CONCLUSION 13: HOME SCHOOLING IS REWARDING

All said and done seeing the light in your child's eyes as he tells you "OH MY GOSH"  as he watches a caterpillar turn into a chrysalis or listening to your seven year old tell a older kid and parent all about where and how Mt. Vesuvius covering Pompie with ash and lava, has it's rewards.  Those moments fill you with the warm fuzzies and has to make you proud of yourself as well as the knowledge that you have passed on to your children.  Is homeschooling the right choice for our family... I still don't know but for now it is the best option that we have.

CONCLUSION 14: PRAYER- FOR GUIDANCE, PEACE, ANSWERS AND PATIENCE- IN ALL THINGS PRAYER IS THE ANSWER.