Now that we have decided to Home School, everyday we experience things that have me saying, "Oh, I can't wait until I don't have to deal with this!" or "This is one of those reasons why being home with my kids is going to be super!" For instance, the other day it was rainy and windy and just plain icky outside. The perfect day to curl up with a book and read the day away. Ellie came upstairs, ready for school and said, "Mom, can I just stay home today and read?" I wished I could have said yes. And though I know she wouldn't have spent the entire day reading, she would have gotten a couple of hours in. Something she couldn't do at a full day of school. Something that we will all enjoy on a cold rainy day in the fall!
On the other hand, we are dealing with a very frustrating cycle with Amelia these days. Her disobedience and constant need of supervision is very tiring for this mom! She's nearly 5 years old and knows the rules, but is making some very poor choices. And in turn, is being repeated by her 3-yr-old shadow, Miss Evelyn. Billy and I explain about being an example a lot in this house, (which unfortunately I can see how my bad example wears off too!) and expect good behavior and good choices from the one older than its younger sibling. Amelia and Evelyn spend all afternoon together and Amelia's example is very important right now.
As we begin to anticipate this change, we are trying to prepare our house! Purging and de-cluttering to make room for school supplies and the like. I'm trying to be patient and not allow myself to make any purchases for "school stuff" until I've rid our home of lots of extras. The city wide garage sale can't come soon enough!
Other things will just have to wait until we actually begin, and the anticipation is something to savor! We have about a month left of school and then a fun summer planned. We do plan to get some school days in when it's rainy or really hot -- that way we can get a jump start on our work and have more flexibility for the school year. I'll be getting curriculum from Ballard, which I can get 2 subjects now, but the other 2 will have to wait until late summer.
We are very excited to start our new adventure, even though I know it'll be a big change for all of us and will have some very challenging days. The big kids will need some transition time, as they are used to the structure of a school day. We have challenging days now, so certainly it'll just be a different kind of challenge that will be more rewarding for everyone.
