Wednesday, May 25, 2005

The Big Decision

Well, for those of you biting your nails in suspense, wait no longer! Here is my decision about school next year:

My second son will enter first grade in the charter school, PAVCS. He's doing really well with the curriculum and the hours, so I don't see any reason to change. The biggest thing I have to work on with him is how easily he gets distracted. If the baby is in the room, it's virtually impossible for him to concentrate on his work. And of course, I can't leave the baby elsewhere in the house unless he's sleeping. So it's either rush through the work while he sleeps, or repeat the instructions 50 times because the baby is sitting on my lap and that's all the kindergartner can think about! So we'll work on that.

My eight year old will stay at home, but I will be developing a curriculum for him. It sounds so simple, but I'm actually a little intimidated by all the choices out there. Ask 10 different homeschoolers and you'll get 10 different recommendations! Anyway, I think this is the best choice both for my sanity and his self-confidence. I don't want to see him go through what my brother did in both public and private school, and he reminds me so much of my brother. The biggest challenge with him is, well, everything. But that's part of why I so much want to keep him home. I can't just send him off to be Someone Else's Problem.

So, there it is. That's my decision. If anyone can suggest some good 4th grade materials, I'm all ears (or is it "all eyes" on the internet?).

3 comments:

  1. You're right. There are a ton of different options for homeschooling, homelearning and unschooling! My best advice would be to do what works for you and your family, not what you think you "should" do or what others are doing. I wish you all the best!

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  2. Thanks for the encouragement!

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  3. Mary - I think part of my oldest son's problem is having too much structure, and K12 is extremely structured. I'd like to do all of his subjects except Language Arts and Math in a very unstructured way next year and see if that helps him. If there is not a difference in his behavior and his willingness to learn, then I'll have to try something else.

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