HOMESCHOOL

I don't know if I've officially announced it on the blog or not, but we are homeschooling this year! I have always been mildly interested in it, but I have to say, I don't think I would want to homeschool long-term. We are just going to do it for this year. It will give us lots of flexibility, and this is kind of a transitional year for our family. Right now, I have so many mixed feeling about it. At one moment, I panic, second-guessing our decision to do it: is it really the right thing for her? how will I manage with the little ones? will Quinn ever let me do anything productive? Thankfully, there are other times when I get excited about it. We just have to get started. Currently, I'm feeling overwhelmed with how to start: How to structure our days, our weeks, how to manage time and be there for all three of my kids, how to keep everyone stimulated enough but not overstimulated. I'm anxious to be in a groove, and I am hopeful that we will get there. It's just that the getting there is causing some hairy days around here when we're all irritated with each other.

We are doing the K12 program, which is called Georgia Virtual Academy here. It's amazing! At no cost, I received boxes and boxes of supplies in the mail: curriculum, science tools, books, wipe boards, writing papers, etc, etc. etc. I have been set up with a local teacher who will serve as my mentor. Also, we are connected to all the other families in the area who are doing the GVA program. This is a very structured program and is considered "public school at home." I will log in attendance, Mali will take "assessments," and we will go to a testing center for standardized tests 2 times this year. Since I'm just doing it this one year, I wanted something highly structured, so that we are confident that she is getting what she needs to enter the 2nd grade next year.

Each day that I hear the school buses pass our house, I am grateful that Mali is with us (though I admit that a part of me thinks, "wouldn't she have fun riding that bus?"). Mali and Quinn have a special connection that will be fostered more easily, the dynamics between she and Greta will be eased too, I believe. When all three kids and I can roll around in the bedroom giggling in the middle of the day, I realize it's where I want to be. There will be a time (next year) when the girls will go off to school together, and I will welcome that time too. But for now, I am trying to focus on savoring this time we have together.