Hangin' On

If I had a child younger than the other, I believe I'd find it easier to send one off to school. I could focus my energies on enjoying the one still at home, but this is not the case. My time home with the kids would be abruptly over if the kids went to kindergarten this fall. Cadence was showing my friend a bag she plans to use for school, who asked whether she'd use it for her lunch or books. I never heard the answer. I was imagining them eating lunch without me. I'd never know if they ate what I packed or what they talked about. My friend saw terror in my eyes and laughed. I couldn't bear the thought. Just when they're taking themselves to the restroom, reasoning things through, and actually fun, I'm supposed to hand them over? I think not. I worked hard for this and I intend to enjoy it. For one more year. 

So we, the three amigos, are full-time once more. In order to make this legal, I'll have to teach them something, but I'm pretty sure I can hack Kindergarten. As I was prepping the schoolroom and gathering materials, Brian said, "You're taking this more seriously than I thought you would." Really, husband? After all these years together you haven't notice that I take everything seriously? 

Serious preparation completed, we jumped in a couple weeks ago. Those are our first day photos showing their grade and what they want to be when they're grown. They love school and want to do it every day, but I'm starting us off slowly. Going from free play every day to task-oriented time everyday would be hard on all of us, but mostly me. So we did two days the first two weeks and this week we'll start doing three days of school, working our way up. In the end, I plan to do four days of formal school so the fifth day can be free for real world learning like field trips. 

If the idea of homeschooling makes you see double, you should know my mom home-schooled me during the crazy traveling years in the trailer and clearly that worked out well. I'm sure they'll love school when they go, but for this year, I have some goals. I want to learn how they learn so I'll be more effective when we work on homework together. I want to give Chandler extra wiggle time and a low-pressure environment. My original major was Elementary Ed and developmental psych class explained that the precentral areas of the brain (needed for schoolwork), develop later in boys. So boys who're challenged scholastically while still very young get frustrated because these parts of their brains are not yet available to them. They may decide they're stupid and by the time their brain is ready, they've quit trying. I also want to foster self-control and focus. After reading about the Tools of the Mind curriculum, I'm excited about the possibility of developing these skills in Kindergarteners. 

If you're curious what our classroom looks like, I'm planning to do a home photo tour soon!