These are my favorite days of the year. The sun sets early. The chores are completed in the daylight and the nights stretch on before me. It is a little slice of heaven for me to curl up with my laptop, a good book and a little knitting to wile away a Friday night. The only dilemma that I find myself in in is which to do first.
I've been thinking a lot about homeschooling. The face of homeschooling is changing daily. It is hard to imagine that when I started to teach my kids at home, we still received concerned looks from those around us. It was not the 'cool' thing to do. Today, it seems that everyone is schooling at home. They are connecting to their local school systems via the Internet, charting schools online and living, what I would call, the best of both worlds. It seems foreign to me that some kids are 'homeschooled' but attending public school for classes, connect online with the same school for classes and homeschool a couple of others. I guess a swift kick and a hearty, Get with the times lecture is in order here.
The boys (my oldest two) are nearing the end of their homeschool journey. Their life discovery is about to begin. It doesn't seem possible that these grown [young] men standing before me are the munchkins that I started with- how time does fly. Now I am left to debate what I want their final homeschool years to look like, how to successfully settle them in college and how to let go as a mom who has been home for so many years.
I love the thinking and reading based curriculum that I have used for so many years. It has made intellectuals out of my kids. I love that my eldest is reading a leather bound full version of Sherlock Holmes for fun. Is that a little nerdy? Maybe but I am okay with that. It is also smart. I like smart. Are they smart enough to pass the tests necessary to get into college? I think so. I really do. It makes me wonder if I should have taught to the test a little more throughout their school career? I then shoo away the thought- we chose NOT to go that route. Why would I change my mind now? Perhaps it is the thought of college acceptance letters that need to be earned before I am done as their teacher. Interesting what kind of motivator perspective is...
Camo Pants
