To quote a friend, the month of September has galloped by. No, that wasn’t a segway to announcing we have horses. Though on the list, that isn’t happening until the spring. September 10, we did get two Berkshire pigs. They … Continue reading
Category Archives: homeschooling
Time for School
All summer long I debated what to do about school this year. I knew for sure I would continue homeschooling Raine. But what about Athena? Her teacher was very honest in the final Junior Kindergarten report card. Things weren’t going well for her at school. Athena was withdrawn and eerily quiet. Generally when teachers or children spoke to her she either ignored them or walked away. It was impossible to assess what she’d learned because Athena would not interact with the instructors.
In March of last year the dentist informed me that Athena’s habit of skewing her jaw was creating lasting effects. Her mouth was beginning to grow incorrectly. At that point it was correctable. I started keeping her home from school most days and we worked on putting her mouth the right way among other things.
Based on those two factors I was planning to homeschool Athena this year. Still, as the summer wore on, I wasn’t sure. Her primary interest became making her sister scream. Raine’s come a long way in her ability to interact with other kids. It took a great deal of effort to get her upset. But Athena devoted herself to honing that skill. Our days were filled with lots of angry shouting from Raine followed by riotous laughter from Athena. I was not amused.
Then there was the actual school part. We kept working a bit over the summer. I would give Athena a task to complete – for example a page of the letter K. After writing one she would shout, “I’m done!” My request that she wait a minute fell on deaf ears. She’d continue shouting, “I’m done!” until I looked at her sheet.
“You’ve only written one letter. You still have lots more to do there.”
“I know,” she’d answer with a smirk. “I just wanted to tell you I was done one.”
After the next one the scene would repeat.
So……I decided to send her to school. It wasn’t my proudest moment. As a mom, I like to think I can make every decision based on what’s best for my child. This choice was in favour of what was best for me and Raine. Based on last year, I had no reason to expect school to be good for Athena. It was with a heavy heart, I got her ready to go on September 2nd.
Surprisingly, Athena was eager to pose for pictures. Normally she refuses to and hardly ever smiles while I’m snapping shots. This morning she was beaming. She walked to school carrying her backpack. And ran into the fenced kindergarten yard without a second look at Raine and I.
When I picked her up, Athena was happy. Last year she was always miserable at the end of school. Never did I know what was going on because she’d angrily tell me, “What I do at school is not your business.” This year, she chatted all evening long with story after story of what went on.
Her good mood and eagerness to share have continued. Even her teacher has noticed a marked difference, commenting that, “Athena is a completely different child. She’s talkative and interacting with the kids.” The teacher and a few friends have asked what changed over the summer. Nothing that I’ve noticed. She’s remained herself – a little more bothersome at times.
With Athena my focus has been confidence. She arrived very insecure and fearful. Time and prayer have brought her to a better place. I didn’t expect going back to school to increase her confidence. Honestly, I expected her to be shy and withdrawn like last year. Instead she’s confident and self-assured.
The information I had while making the decision didn’t indicate such a positive outcome. Yet, sending her to school felt right. Guiltily, I thought it was only going to be right for Raine and I. We would get some much needed quiet. Maybe if I’d taken the time to listen a little more to Holy Spirit, I wouldn’t have picked up that guilt. He knew going to school would be the best thing for Athena. Glad I at least listened to that nudging.
Friends
Friendship… is not something you learn in school.
But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship,
you really haven’t learned anything.
Friends are my greatest earthly treasure. I can’t imagine life without them. Some have been around a long time – like Erin who I’ve known since I was a toddler and Kara came along when I was 13. Others I’ve met more recently and we share a more immediate history.
Often, I’ve wondered if my girls would have the same joyous experience of having each other and a close circle of friends to see them through life. There were times when Raine’s behaviour made me mournful. She couldn’t see how vehemently she was pushing away her peers – including her sister.
Lesson Learned
Lately on Wednesdays, Raine and I have been going to craft & story time at Chapters (one of my favourite places). A friend of ours comes as well with her 3yr old. He’s not much into the story and craft hosted by a very dedicated staff member. Raine, however, loves it. I must admit the crafts are somewhat advanced for the other 2-3yr old children. Being 6, Raine does them with ease and comes away with a wonderful sense of accomplishment.
My friend lives nearby so we head over there for lunch most weeks. That’s what had me making loaded baked potato soup yesterday evening. While it boiled, I was blogging. Writing makes my spirit come alive in a unique way. But I’ve realized it’s not something to combine with cooking. Wanting to get back to my thoughts erupting in yesterday’s post, I hastily threw the soup base in the blender without letting it cool properly. I just wanted to be done so I could get on with writing.
After a moment of blending there was a crack. Then the glass split. Pureed potatoes and broth spilt everywhere! If you’ve been to my house, you know the kitchen counter is a catch all. Previous weeks’ crafts from Chapters were there along with a button bracelet Raine had made, a brand new notebook, and a big bag of Easter treats, among other things were soaked in the mixture. Grabbing a few dishcloths, I dumped everything in the trash – broken blender included – and tidied up.
My counter’s now clear of clutter. Sadly this is how it generally gets done. This isn’t the first time the blender contents have ended up all over. It is, however, the first time I’ve shatter the glass because something was too hot. The other times it was for other reasons.
I’ve learned one important lesson, not to combine cooking and blogging. That’s why today, I decided to make gluten free zucchini cookies after posting.
See you tomorrow! (have some exciting adoption news to share……)
It’s Sunday
Welcome to my new site – Wonderfully Unusual. I had a post in mind to welcome you to this new space. It had to do with the quote above and the name of my site. It was complete in my mind. But I’m having a difficult time recalling it. Let me tell you why.
The kids and I have been hit pretty hard with colds this week. This is our first round since last winter, so I’m not really complaining. In the midst of designing my new blog I have some deadlines to meet. I must get my income tax done to prove I still qualify for the adoption subsidy I currently receive. Sometime this coming week a social worker is doing a home safety inspection. I have yet to be informed when. All the safety’s in order, but the house is a bit of a mess especially since I haven’t been feeling well.
This morning I pulled myself out of bed at 6:45am. Promptly I called 4yr old Athena’s school to leave a message saying she wouldn’t be in today because she’s unwell. When the kids finished breakfast I started them on some school work. I sipped my coffee and thought the radio must have made a mistake when the announcer mentioned it being Sunday. Or, more likely, I misheard.
I debated texting the neigbour to tell her Athena wasn’t going to school. Instead I waited for her daughter to arrive. Normally she walks Athena to and from school.
“I guess Natalie has forgotten about you,” I commented.
“Maybe she’s sick too,” Raine offered.
We explored all the possible reasons Natalie hadn’t arrived which wasn’t a big deal since Athena wasn’t going to school. Then I realized, It’s Monday and I haven’t posted my Sunday blog! With all the work on the new site, I was quite disappointed at my oversight.
After an hour of school work, the kids went to play in the backyard. I fervently hoped the home inspection wouldn’t be today. Needing a quick distraction from all the housework looming around me, I picked up my phone to scroll through facebook. That’s when I discovered it’s Sunday.
I nearly fell over laughing at my mixed up mind. Can’t recall ever having made such a huge oversight. Let’s blame it on the cold that’s starting to lift. Really glad I didn’t text the neighbour. I’m so happy I had today to tidy the basement and nearly complete my income tax. Best of all I got to post on my new blog. But I don’t have any fancy words to welcome you. I’m still a little jumbled after my false start. Maybe next time.