*crickets*
I know, I know. I've barely been around. This blog has been rather decidedly neglected in the past year. Which in bloggy land, is akin to bloggy death. So if no one reads this, I shan't be surprised. Also because I'm going to ramble about my plans for homeschooling next year, and that is probably uninteresting to most people. There have been a lot of things going on, thus the radio silence.
This is actually not normal for me, as I am an external processor and find the most release and most excellent processing through writing. But the things going on in my life have been so multitudinous, so huge, so frequent, so emotionally exhausting, so constant, and so private, I just haven't been able to write here. I haven't had time, and have frequently sat staring, thinking perhaps I could post about this topic or that, but feeling frozen at the same time, or unable to cheerily post about some cheerful and relevant topic when all I wanted to do was crawl in a hole and disappear. I felt fake?
Things are not particularly looking up, but I am beginning to come out of the shock of it all and see the light at the end of the tunnel. We've moved, twice, and are in the midst of that second move and boxes and chaos everywhere. But I felt the unction to function in a way that didn't require thinking about where to stash this or that object or how best to arrange the cupboards.
So hi.
What's on my mind right now is school for next year. I am super excited about it. I wasn't excited about this year, due to being overwhelmed. In fact, I almost stuck the kids in public school, but after much thought and prayer and back and forth realized it would be too much change for them and wouldn't really alleviate my responsibilities to their education enough to make it worth it. So I packed the schedule with outside classes, even ones including core curriculum like math, and we've done our best to limp along. And so far, it's gone ok. The kids are behind in some areas, but ahead in others (or at "level"). We'll catch up, especially now that I'm more functional.
Anyways, one thing we did this year was join a Christian co-op. Previously, almost all of our outside classes have been through a public school program. Which I like; it's a program with its own building and classes, and it has a lot to offer while at the same time being fairly laid back. I love the community we've built there. I think I've made some lifelong friends, actually, and my kids feel the same. But, the classes are neutral to religion. Which is just fine, but I wanted to find something for my kids that incorporated our faith, especially since I do so at home. Personally I don't see how you *can't* incorporate your worldview into school, so that's something I've been very attentive to in our teacher choice and class choice there. After all, that's one of the reasons I homeschool! I also personally find it difficult to describe the amazingness of science and math and language properly without referring to its Creator. So I wanted my kids to see that connection as well.
Initially, what drew me to the co-op was actually a Latin class for Sparrow. And then I discovered so much more; and have really enjoyed dipping my toes into the community there as well. One thing I have been impressed with is the quality of academics. I guess it makes sense; homeschoolers tend to either be really laid back about it because hey, isn't that why we are homeschooling? or really WE MUST GIVE OUR CHILDREN THE BEST EDUCATION POSSIBLE because hey, isn't that why we are homeschooling? (I find myself embracing both these values, and learning to find the balance between strict academia and teaching the value and love of learning) I would say that most of these classes fall in the latter category, or in the middle leaning toward the latter. It's perfect for where Sparrow is right now. We'll see how it goes with Ginger; she only barely made the cut-off for Kindergarten this year, and I am somewhat concerned that the classes aimed at 1st-2nd graders will prove more than she is capable of emotionally. I'm just so not *in* to sitting that age group down and having that kind of focused classroom experience, but her classes all sound so amazing and interesting I figured we'd give it a shot.
That's another thing I'm excited about: the classes are really dynamic and interesting, and more suited to the way I present topics than a traditional school. For instance, Sparrow will be in a class that will be all about Da Vinci. It will incorporate art, science, language, history, culture, physics, inventions, etc. all centered around Da Vinci and rooted in a base of math. Ginger will be in a class about animals, but learning through the perspective of Rudyard Kipling's short stories, comparing and contrasting real animals with the fanciful ones in his books. So it will incorporate language arts, history, culture, and science. Me likey. Also me likey: I will be teaching! I love teaching, so this will hopefully be a good and fun experience. It's been *awhile* since I've taught a group of kids, so I'm a little nervous, but we'll see! I'm teaching a dance class for the first trimester (focusing on Irish Step Dancing) and a LEGO club throughout the year.
And what's nice is that now that I have that all squared away, I can really focus on what we want to take through the public school program next year. Of course, new classes haven't been decided on yet and we probably won't see them and sign up until June, but still. I have a good idea already of where the holes are and where the next school year is heading. Considering Sparrow will be in FIFTH GRADE (!!!!!!), this is good! I have activities every day of the workweek this year, and it has been exhaustifying. I'm hoping to cut down to two days ideally or two heavy days and one light day of classes. So that means, we'll probably only go one or two days at the other program, but try to pack more into one day. Right now we just take a few classes a couple of times a week.
Good times. Am I the only one planning out the next year of homeschooling while this one isn't even concluded? Or are there other
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