I had sort of gotten used to not being a "homeschool mom" and here we go again. Not that I don't like the term or being one it's just another adjustment. The kids are going through it a bit I think too. Trenton is really excited about the shiny new computers that showed up on Tuesday and all the mysterious boxes that arrived on Wednesday. But he's still not so sure about being so socially isolated. I need to be more diligent about having children over to play (especially boys) and get him involved in some sports activities.
Alyssa, you are the athletic one... what's the next season coming up? Where do you find affordable sports leagues? Poor guy is stuck with all these sisters and his mother 90% of the time and I think he's getting to the age he wants to get out and do somethings without all us girls hovering around him. Todd would take him with him everywhere he went but I think it's some kinda HIPA violation to take your kid to work with you in an ER... LOL! It's hard on Todd that they can't hang out more and he does every chance he gets but Trenton needs good social outlets as his personality is very extroverted and he thrives on being involved in group activities. But I digress...
We are really excited about school. I spent like 20 minute (seriously
20 MINUTES!) planning my school year. All the lessons from K12 come pre-loaded into our online account and set up in a daily format so all I have to do is log in, click on a specific childs name, and their lessons for that day appear. If I want to only do Science and History on Tuesdays and Thursdays I just click a few buttons in the planning page and it sets it all up. I then can hit "calculate end date" and it tells me what day we will be finished with the entire year for that subject. Like in Tacey's case, she tested as behind in her Language Arts (LA) since the school here put her back into Kindergarten. She was ready for 2nd grade in Math, History, and Science but needed to play catch up in LA. So they ordered her the 1st grade LA and when she is done with that they will order her the 2nd grade LA course right then. So I messed with her schedule to double up on LA lessons on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays which means she will be done with 1st grade LA around the end of January and ready to order 2nd grade level LA. We should then be able (if we work into the Summer) to finish that in time for her to start 3rd grade caught up to grade level in all her subjects. I just love this!!
I know she already knows a lot of this stuff so all I have her do is if we come to a lesson I know she gets I just have her take the Lesson Assessment and if she passes it she can go on and doesn't have to do the lesson but can then move on to something she needs work on. This is soooo way cool to me! The kids can get as far ahead as they want to and work at their own pace. If it takes Trina an hour to do just one lesson she can take all that time she needs to. If she gets it in 5 minutes she can go on to something else. Mindless busy work isn't required and I love that. But if they need it, it's there.
So I have this weekend to get all my ducks in a row (ha! pretty much literally!) 'cause Monday we are gonna kick things off. Lawrence Virtual School recommended starting two weeks early with Trenton and Trina to minimize the chaos a bit. That way I can figure out what we are doing and trouble shoot with only two to start out with. Then add in the other two once the older ones are settled into a routine and kinda know what they are doing leaving me to focus on the the littler two. We decided to make over a corner of our basement into a classroom so now all I need to do is get the new computers all set up, unpack the 15 some odd boxes filled with their school supplies and check off to make sure everything is here, find places to store all that stuff, and purchase any other supplies we'll need to get started. Whew! My head is spinning! I sure hope this isn't as crazy as it feels like it is going to be... We don't get assigned our Education Specialists until mid-August so hopefully she won't be walking into a crazy mess! (my biggest fear right now...)
In other news, Todd is started into his 4th year full swing. It's been amazing to watch all the details come together for his rotations out of state! For the next 4 months he'll be doing rotations in the ER (his chosen specialty) so he's really looking forward to these months. For August and September he's here in town but then for October he'll be in Corpus Christi, TX and straight from there to Greenville, NC for the month of November. Yeah... That means I won't see him for 2 whole months!! Not even for the weekend!! I'm already dreading that but these are great opportunities for him so I'm choosing to be as excited as he is... *gulp*
Ok, that isn't working but hey! I'm trying!!!!
Comments (1)
Hi :)
yes, fall soccer season is usually about ready to start up and signing up is usually in August - might want to check on local city leagues or what not in your area - check and see about UPWARD sports in your area as well -- Christian based and we did basketball w/ them and they are all over -- you could sign up basketball usually you begin to sign up for that in OCt. I think or Nov. though you won't start until January. Gymnastics is GREat for guys I think --- all my boys have started w/ that and you learn so much about strength and coordination - prepares you for all other sports. Soccer is something you can do fall and spring -- and usually there isn't quite as much commitment. I'm learning football (at least city leagues in TX. !) is TOTALLY commitment and time and you have to be really into it. I don't know your area but sometimes ice rinks have ice hockey teams through fall and winter. If you do football you sign in spring - practice through summer and usually the state requirements are that you put in so many hours of training before season even starts -- but I do think it will be great for the guys -- especially since I don't know their chances of playing in highschool - figure now is the time to let them play~
anyway, there's some ideas -- I think it's great to get guys out there and learning about life and social and authority and teaching them to stand alone and also make friends.