Where Did July Go?

I can't believe it is July 22nd already! Where did the month go? On the fourth we had a pool party with friends that have 4 children close in age to ours. The kids had fun eating popsicles, swimming, and throwing snaps at the ground. Z & F were determined to stay awake long enough to see the fireworks, but fell asleep about 30 minutes before we were to leave to watch them. So we put the kids in their beds and made a plan to try again next year. B and I stayed up to watch a PBS special on how the national fireworks show is planned and executed. I had no idea how labor intensive the process was! The fireworks are made by hand, due to the inherent risk of explosives and modern machinery. Each fire work is carefully loaded into tubes and then from a control center a short distance away ignited from a manual switch board. I thought these shows were all computerized. I gained a new appreciation for the displays I have seen in the past.

A lego store opened up in our local shopping mall in early July. They had one of the Lego master builders on site to build a life-sized replica R2D2. There were stations set up to build blocks that would be used in the R2D2. After you built your piece, you could get a certificate in the store and a coupon. The kids had a wonderful time building the blocks, meeting a Lego character and visiting the Lego store. F-loves playing with legos and has been known to spend several hours building cars and planes with dad. B's friend from work, couldn't justify his immense lego collection to his new fiance, so we were the happy and thankful beneficiaries of thousands of legos last year!

Oscar potty trained this summer and I am happy to say he is done! Nothing like a little naked time to do the trick. He is so used to being naked though, that we have to clothes train him. He believes that swimming is meant to be done in the nude and takes off his icky, wet swim trunks at the first opportunity. I still put him in a diaper at nighttime, even though 99% of the time he wakes dry. I may start putting triple gerber training underwear on him at night for those unexpected, rare, accidents, rather than waste any more resources on diapers.

The kids spent the next few weeks enjoying or suffering through various classes and taking turns with a nasty stomach bug. F loves his gymnastics class and O dreams of joining in on the fun. His turn is next week when the boys can take a gymnastics class together at the YMCA. Z sulked because her art class was cancelled. Z & F were less than thrilled to take a tapping to the oldies class, but it was all that was left at the rec center. I guess that's the risk in waiting too long to sign up for classes. They were very cute at their little recital and even managed to do a few of the same moves the teacher did. F had a conversation with the only other little boy in the class about who was taller and Z had fun running around the room with another little girl her age. O was mesmerized with the wildness before him, prior to the class beginning.

We have tried to visit the library every week and slowly O's behavior in the library is improving. He no longer tries to run to the exit and ditch his mom and siblings. Now he runs around the shelving units in the children's section. Baby steps, I suppose. He is so active, I cannot keep up with him some days. I think we may need to go more often, because Z reads all her books, F's, O's, and mine with a few days to spare before we return to the library. F says he doesn't like to read, so I am not pushing it too much. He can sound out some words and recognizes most short sight words. I think he is frustrated that the process starts out so slow.

He is on a corvette kick and we have checked out the same 15 books on a rotating basis on cars and corvettes. It is an act of true love to sit and read books to a 4 year old about how many cubic liters and engine has, which style of corvette was made when, and the aerodynamics of race cars. I usually fall asleep after the first 5 or so pages. He just eats it up though- he is definitely like his dad. Today F told me: "1 + 2 and 1+1 make 5." I didn't think he was supposed to figure equations like that out until the end of kindergarten or the beginning of first grade. I can see why he is struggling with reading. His mind is occupied with numbers instead.

Z finally lost a stubborn top, front tooth. At some point during this process she told B that her friend JW's dad used pliers on one of his teeth and maybe they should try it on her tooth. B- tried using an uninflated balloon to grip the tooth, I broke about 6 floss loops on the tooth, numerous paper towels to grab the tooth, B-tried three different types of pliers, and Z-tried pulling it with her friends AW & SW. Before you think we are barbaric and trying to harm her, this was all at her request and persistent insistence! She would not leave us alone and if we denied her, she would turn to carrots and yell, "ow, ow, ow" as she tried to dislodge the stubborn tooth. Finally after 1 month of intense wiggling, I was finally able to pull it out easily with floss.

I have spent this summer reading lots of books on how children learn, pro/con of homeschooling, and planning out a curriculum for Z. I attended a homeschool conference in Phoenix last weekend to learn more about juggling young children and school, assessing their skills, and how other parents homeschool. I was amazed at the number of people in attendance and the spectrum of participants. I appreciated the opportunity to observe high school age homeschool kids and middle school kids. Some definitely fulfilled the stereotype, but most would blend easily into a group of public school peers.

I appreciate every one's comments and personal emails of encouragement, support, concerns, and ideas. Thanks so much for your help. I have struggled with making this decision. I have looked at the issue from several different perspectives- from the short term consequences, rational for wanting to homeschool, personal philosophy on education, socialization issues, to the long term consequences like how to get into college, societal norms and expectations, and much much more. So after much thought and prayer, I have decided to homeschool Z this year and have F attend a kindergarten readiness program through the school district. In a nutshell, I am doing this for social, cultural, academic, and family reasons. I realized this weekend that I have pretty much homeschooled our children all along and that it is as much an attitude as an action. I have always sought out opportunities to teach the kids and introduce them to a variety of experiences. I think this will simplify our lives to some degree. The kids are enrolled in sports through the YMCA and I will take full advantage of the childwatch program twice a week so I can destress. I am excited for this new adventure, I have 8 weeks planned out and plan to have lots of field trips with the kids. Our lives are on hold in September as B interviews and we find out about China and whether we will be travelling there for a house hunting trip in the fall. I'll plan out the remainder of the year when I know a bit more.

Educational Dillema

I am considering homeschooling my children and have spent the summer learning about homeschooling, networking with homeschool families, and practicing at home to see if I can do it. I feel confident that I can do it successfully. As a homeschooling parent, my goals would be: to provide a holistic approach toward education, take more field trips, spend the best hours of the day with my children, foster a love of learning, emphasize conflict resolution, and to provide more stability in our family life through our frequent moves. There are moments though, when I think I must be mad! Z will be in first grade, F-pre k, and O is 2yo. It would be bonding time with the youngest, a chance to get some projects around the house finished, alone time for me during nap time, and time to prepare for my return to school. I do wonder if I am a glutton for punishment- I do like to make things more difficult.

My interest in homeschooling is not in opposition to our neighborhood school. We move frequently and this would provide a strong base for the children when we move. I am concerned about the emphasis placed on testing in our schools. I feel this does not encourage complex, logical thought, and retention of information. In our society, we need people who can participate in and appreciate debates, civic responsibilities, and community service. I want my children to think clearly and logically, be socially conscious, politically aware, respectful of the environment, and tolerant. I have seen an open school model in California that met all my goals and expectations. No such luck in AZ. I could go into a social analysis on the benefit of homeschooling and training of a work force and population, but for today, I will spare you the soapbox speech.

My dilemma is this: do I homeschool or attend our local public school? We have a wonderful public school down the street. Most of the teachers are great. The school has activities for the children to participate in- plays, assemblies, clubs, carnivals, bike rally, and fieldtrips. It is also only 4 blocks away. On the negative side- girls get very catty and vicious around 2nd grade; the quality of the teacher instruction is hit or miss in the upper grades; lunches are short about 15 minutes; the younger kids are still expected to have outdoor recess when the temp outside is over 100 degrees; classroom management minimizes student to student interaction -in turn limiting opportunities for conflict & resolution; classroom size is about 24 in Kindergarten and 25 in first grade. If your child is inquisitive and bright it takes a special teacher to expect more out your child and not bore the child into hating the learning process. It is an excelling school, which is a big deal in the Chandler school district, but one of the many steps to achieve that rating, the school starts training children in Kindergarten how to do drills and tests.

I feel as though I am considering something socially rebellious to teach my children at home, yet I am encouraged and excited at the possibilities of doing so. I worry that my children will regret not having the good parts of school in their memories and experiences. I don't want to overprotect and shelter my kids and I want them to have a broad range of experiences. I worry that I cannot offer them what they get at school. Then I get frustrated that I am trying to mimic the school experience and not forge my own path. I get scared that I will get mother burn out, but then again I may find new joy in motherhood that I have missed or taken for granted.

A little more information for you: my older children Z-6 and F-4 are exceptionally bright. Of course I am a proud parent, but we are usually pretty modest about this around the children and this is the feedback we receive from other parents and educators.

O-2 yrs is probably bright too, but really what can I expect from a two year old?

F is methodical and literal. Loves legos, order, pleasing people, and riding his bike. He is kind, generous, and passionate. He struggles with strong emotions and handling social conflict. He is a big reason why I feel so strongly about learning conflict resolution skills in the classroom. He loves numbers and math and although he can read, he does not like to read. He gets frustrated that he has to practice it to learn the skill.

Z is creative, curious, disorganized, and strong willed. She loves to read and enjoys chapter books. Friendships are important to her- especially deep friendships- not acquaintances. I often wonder if the time spent at school encourages close friendships or many acquaintances? She also likes manipulating numbers. She is empathetic and competent. Outdoor play and bike time are treasured activities. She enjoys school most of the time, but is often bored w/ the content. The homework is so easy, I struggle to get her to acknowledge it long enough to finish it. She also gets a terrible attitude during the school year and is exceptionally tired in the evening, in spite of 12 hours sleep.

Our family moves frequently- we have moved 4 times between 2001-2007. We are facing a prospective move next year for a temporary development assignment for work to either China or Oregon. We will be in Oregon 6-9 months and if we go to China instead, it would be 2-3 years. Easing these transitions for the children is a priority for me We currently live in AZ. It is fairly easy to homeschool in this state.

What are your thoughts and experiences with homeschool? Personally? Professionally? Family dynamics?

What are the experiences of homeschoolers you know going to college?

What are your thoughts and experiences with public schools? Personally? Professionally? Family dynamics?