3rd Year's A Charm?

  I don't want to jinx myself but I think we've finally found our groove. My son has four core classes that require a certain number of assignments completed each day in order to complete the week's schedule. He's been doing it without complaint. Without complaint! Someone knock on some wood with me!

  I have a list of subjects we did not cover during 8th and 9th grades so I will slowly introduce those to him in the coming weeks but so far so good for the first 6 weeks of school. I also have a list of subjects that I want to make sure we cover although the curriculum might already include some. I had resume and cover letter writing on the list but he's already doing that in Sophomore English so I scratched that off. I'm hoping to scratch off more but we'll see. Wish us luck!

Sophomore year!

  How is it possible my kid is a sophomore already? What is happening here?!

  Since we're still not participating in the co-op (even though they still have me in their group for the third year), we started school when we wanted to which is the day after Labor Day. Actually, I think the co-op started that day too but that is neither here nor there.

  We had a great day! We came up with a schedule, he's taking their math class (so far so good) and we have come to an understanding regarding writing assignments (which I intend to amend later but that's neither here nor there either). It's all good.

  Since he is doing the writing assignments, I've had more to grade and I'm already behind. Working 40 hours a week is really sucky when you're trying to homeschool a high schooler. I'm thrilled that he's doing so well and sticking to his schedule though so I'm not complaining!

  Issues so far that we'll have to work out:

1. Time 4 Learning still uses cartoon-y characters in their videos but we're dealing with it. If it stops being lectures again and all cartoon-y, I'll have to find another program for him which I have already been researching so I'm ready if that day comes.
2. Back to the writing issue - I do not believe he is fully utilizing their bank of information when it comes to his writing assignments but I will bring this up as we get a bit further into the semester. I have to remember that he is not an English geek like I am.
3. He wants to learn cursive and I have a bunch of other topics I want to introduce but I don't want to spring that on him until he gets a few weeks of his schedule under his belt. The hope is not to cause any surliness (at least, not more than he already exudes) and not to add hours to his school day. I need to figure out how to present these things to him without it seeming like school work. He's 16, not 6. 

  I'm up for the challenge and I'm optimistic for this year. Here's to a great sophomore year!

Freshman year is... not done yet

  Yes, I realize it's July but I've had a lot going on outside of homeschooling. I'm going to leave it at that.

  The only subject he's not finished with is math. Teaching Textbooks hasn't worked out for us leaving me to wonder how I'm going to finish up math for him (hence, why it's July and he's still not finished).

  I'm confident I will come up with something though. In the meantime, I have to talk about my success with a writing assignment! I had him read The Catcher in the Rye and write a book report. Getting this kid to write a report is like pulling teeth. You would think I was asking him to saw off his right arm with a spoon with the way he reacts to the words "book report". It would be quite comical if it weren't so frustrating. Thankfully, no argument for this past request and the paper he wrote wasn't bad! 

  He will be done with math before the end of July. If I type it, so shall it be.

Borrowed Time

My oldest turned 18 during his senior year of high school and from that moment I felt like I was on borrowed time.

Did I teach him everything I wanted him to know?

Was it enough?

Did he listen when I was trying to teach him?

Was my message clear?

Will he be OK when out in the world?

Did I do a good job raising him?

Does he know how much I love him?

I cannot help but think that I am unbelievably blessed. My friends are texting and Snapchatting with their college freshmen and I get to see mine every day.

I still feel like I am on borrowed time. It hit me harder when he turned 19 last year; this year, he turns 20. Yikes.

I want to let go (and I think I've been doing a good job doing so) but I also want to hang on so tightly to him. I am pretty sure I did not teach everything I want him to know yet and what I have taught him wasn't enough. I am positive my message was not clear and even if it was, I do not believe he listened all the time. (Are you really hearing someone when you roll your eyes?) I pray I did a good job raising him and aside from telling him how much I love him, I hope I show him how much he means to me.

No Rest for the Weary

  As you know, we started our homeschooling year later than public school; after Labor Day, but that was to finish up some stuff from 8th grade. It was mid October before we started 9th grade. I did not schedule any breaks into the schedule this year and it runs through the end of June. I did this for a manageable schedule each day. If he saw pages of assignments for any of his classes, he would be overwhelmed.

  Recently, I told him if he wants a break, he can work ahead so he can take a few days and not get too far behind. He seemed OK with this request.

  I'm finding that I'm not OK with this request since it means that I, too, do not get a break. How did I miss that aspect?! No clue but I'm rolling with it. He seems to be doing well with the program and since I am doing my record keeping a bit differently this year, I have less busy work which is great!

  This is what I enjoy most about homeschooling - if something isn't working, I change it and we move on. Well, this is what I'm enjoying most this year. Last year was very stressful for both of us. This year, I have a new outlook and attitude. And, I have to say, thank goodness for my Passion Planner! I started using it in fall 2015 when I started homeschooling. 2017 will be my third year (2nd full year) and I'm so grateful for it.

  Regarding Math - I ordered a second-hand Teaching Textbook for Algebra I. He looked it over and likes the Painless Math better but we're going to go over it together to see what's what. We're going to start Algebra 1 with the Teaching Textbook in January.

  My new record keeping system - The program he uses is Time 4 Learning which checks off assignments on the calendar as he finishes them. Last year, I was printing it out a week at a time and checking what he did plus the date and writing down the grade he got. I did this mostly because I felt as though I needed to prove that I was doing something which is silly because of course I was! I helped him when he needed help, encouraged when he needed it, expressed my displeasure when I needed to, etc. In addition to all of this, I was also wasting a lot of time in the name of proving to anyone who questioned me that I was involved and engaged in my son's education. I thought by printing everything out, I was doing enough when really, I was doing enough by being there when he needed me.

  T4L has grading reports available so I'm no longer writing them on the printed calendar week of assignments. I'm no longer checking them off with a date either since again, it's all included in the grading report. I only print when the week is completed. The only thing I print out as he does them is his Odyssey Writer assignments. This is making it much easier on me and he can still go at his own pace. If there are gaps, I talk to him about them and we look to see where the disconnect is. It's working for us. I think we're both more relaxed this year.

Learning Curve

  In another post I mentioned that my youngest was annoyed with me when we took a trip by plane two weeks after he could not get himself on the plane with his brother. We were taking a longer trip than the flight out to Vegas and it was not like anyone was going to be there to take him if he could not make himself get on the plane. It also was not a cheap flight. We paid my in-laws the $100 for the flight to Vegas he missed but we did not have the money to lose on the one we took two weeks later because it was not only his ticket that we would lose money on. One of us would have to stay behind with him. He absolutely needed to make that flight so we saw the psychologist right after he missed the flight to visit the in-laws and talked about the Rx needed to calm his nerves. We had less than 14 days for him to take the meds; hopefully that was enough to get him on the plane. That was an anxious two weeks for all of us.

  Hindsight is wonderful, isn't it? Now I can see that we had nothing to worry about. He would not have been frozen and not able to get on the plane with us but at the time, I did not know that. I kept asking how he was and I think I made him more nervous than anything. He was fine to get on that plane because my husband and I were with him. It likely would have only taken one of us to be with him for him to be OK. Lesson learned.

  I do not have social anxiety, at least, not to the extent my son has it. I am what I consider 'normal nervous' before doing something new. I can sit in a restaurant by myself and eat and read. The first time I did it, I hated it but I am used to it now so it does not bother me. I made myself do it in the first place so I was in control. Maybe that is why I can continue to do it and even enjoy it. I had always admired people sitting in cafes reading their book while sipping on their coffee. They looked so relax, so peaceful. I wanted to be relaxed and peaceful!

  Walking into a new job, a classroom, a new restaurant, exercise class by yourself is nerve wracking even for people who are normal nervous but for someone with social anxiety, it is paralyzing. The only one from that list that cannot be done with a buddy is walking into a new job and quite possibly the classroom. My son will be taking driver's ed soon so my goal for him is to be able to walk into the class each week and get it done. We can work on the new job another time although I think he would be fine with that. Most of his aversion to doing things he does not want to do seems to center around school BUT he does want his license and he wants it at 16 to show up his brother (who did not go get his until almost 18) so that might be the motivation he needs to get himself to class. Wish us luck!  

Learning vs Memorizing

  Over the summer my youngest and I had to go to my mom's to help her with something. Some creosote oil my dad had in the garage had corroded the can it was sitting in and leaked all over a dolly and got on her floor. I know, big deal, it's on the floor, it's the garage, who cares? Well, her floor had been surfaced earlier this year with a non-stick coating (to make it safer for her in the winter time when the concrete sweats and is slippery) and she was worried about the finish. Frankly, so was I.

  As we were on our way over, I was explaining to my son what happened.

  S: "Why does Grandma even have that? It's not like she has any railroad ties at the house."

  Me: "How do you know what creosote oil is for?"

  S: "Well Mom, that's the funny thing about homeschooling. I actually learn stuff."

  Well, who da thunk it? He learned something. Imagine that! He went on to talk about how all he did in public school was memorize stuff for tests only to forget it so he could memorize different stuff for the next test. I smiled the whole time he talked. I couldn't help it! My choice to homeschool had been validated!

  I have always said public education is education for the masses. As a parent, it is my responsibility to educate my child as best I can. If you do not believe what your child is learning in school is enough, then either supplement it or put him in private school. And even private school is not guaranteed to be a great education so your best bet is to supplement in my opinion. Not everyone can afford Sylvan or Kumon which is fine - go to the library. Find a book on something your child likes and do a whole unit on it. Draw it. Write about it. Talk about it. Since my kids got good grades in school, I assumed they were learning what they needed but summers were another story. Some summers we went to the library and checked out books to read. I didn't make them do any work, just read and they both like to read so it was not a struggle. One summer they both did workbooks. They hated it. Guaranteed neither of them retained any of that information.

  Teachers are not meant to teach your child everything but so many parents expect them to. Talk to a teacher but ask them to be honest with their answers because if you don't, you will hear a bunch of I love what I do. I love the kids. It's so rewarding. I get summers off! If you ask for the truth, you will find that parents are the hardest part of their job and while I'm sure it has, to some extent, always been this way, it seems like it is much worse today.

  I am happy my youngest is retaining information he has learned. Has he learned it all from this homeschooling program? No. Some he has learned from his brother and some he has actually learned from the video games he plays. Proud gamer mom right here.