Next school year, Issy and Isaac are going to be going to our teeny-tiny little parish school. As far as school goes, it seems to be a very good fit. It is grades 1-6, and there are only about 25? kids in the whole school. They have had the opportunity to spend a few days in their future classrooms, meeting the other kids, the teachers, working on some learning things. The school has been very very accommodating- the administrator suggested that they come for a day every couple of weeks for the remainder of the year just to acclimate.
The kids love it. So much. I know that some of that is the novelty of it and it will wear off (for example, they did standardized testing with the other kids so that we could have a gauge of where they are at, information-wise. When I asked them how the testing was they said, it was "Great!" and "Awesome!" And they weren't joking.) But they loved being around other kids their age, they seemed to like the structure.
Even though I know it is the right decision for them at this time, I would be lying to say that I am not a bit, hmmm, not sad... but wistful? Perhaps more than any other decision, this changes things. We have moved, we have added babies, Joe has changed jobs, but homeschooling was the one constant. And I wouldn't have had it any other way- we needed that. Now that we are settling, the dynamic has changed, other things will be the constant, so sending them to school won't rock our family the way it might have in the past.
We always said that we would go year by year and child by child with this decision. And we have decided that, for now, we will continue to homeschool Liam. The school starts at first grade and while he will technically be old enough by next year, he just isn't ready for it, maturity-wise. He is plenty smart, but we need at least another year to work on how to deal with frustration, how to win well and lose well and just to establish a connection. He gets middle- childed a lot. It is one of the challenges of a large family, I suppose. You try to be fair and divide your time equally, but sometimes, it is just not fair. The few days the older ones have spent at school it has been nice to just focus on working with him while the littler ones play quietly.
This school only goes up to 6th grade currently, so there may be some more homeschooling in the future, which would be fine with me. We will just keep the year by year and child by child policy :)
6 comments:
That's sounds exciting for your kids (and you, too)!
Very good. It's just nice to be open to whatever is going to work for each child, each year, etc. and not try to plan the next 12 years out for any given child. Sounds like you've found a great school to suit your needs for now. God will continue to guide and provide I am certain.
Thanks for all the updates, always enjoy when you have a new post.
That sounds like it will be very nice for all of you! I love the sound of that school. Like Monica, I love the updates, I always get a little excited when I see you've posted!
WOw! With classes that small...it's almost like homeschool!! It's nice you have some time to focus on Liam...I hear you on the whole middle child situation.
Thank you all for commenting- it is nice to still connected to all my old friends :)
I am excited for your new journey and for the kids too. I totally understand the mixed feelings! Those won't ever fully go away but I hope you will be mostly at peace.
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