Tell Me Thursday - First Day

Yes, they survived.

When Bo brought the camera home and I saw this one, I almost cried for my crumpled on the curb boy.

But, they both did fine.  It wasn't spectacularly exciting (but was grade school ever?) They both found their classrooms, the bathrooms, the lunchroom and the bus home. The teachers were nice.

Colin came home with homework and was annoyed, but survived. He also told me that books were not exaggerated. (We had a conversation a couple days ago where he shared that he thought maybe he had read too many books talking about negative things about school.  I said that books are often exaggerated to create a good story.)

Nate admitted that it was a pretty good day.  The biggest complaint is that he has to sit next to a girl.  (When I tell him that most of his favorite people are girls -- me, his sister, his aunt, his grandma) he explains that it's different.  We're his FAMILY, she's just some girl. 

They will do fine.  I will do fine.  It's a new chapter in our ever-evolving life.

We chose to homeschool because it helped us have time when we needed it for the family, I liked my kids, liked doing things with them and felt that I could do a good job at it. (And it was great visiting museums and zoos when most kids were in school! It meant there were no crowds.) When we first made the decision, Bo was working extremely long, erratic hours.  Even 2 years ago, it was common that he would leave for work after 9 or 10AM and not return until 9 or 10PM. Those early morning hours meant the boys could spend time with him and we felt that was extremely important.

This year?  I'm working consistently out of the home. Bo doesn't have as many evening or weekend calls. Our lives have shifted and it makes more sense for the boys to attend the local school.  Will we ever homeschool again?  Never say never!  But, we are committed to completing this year to the best of all our abilities. We loved homeschooling, but that doesn't mean we can't make different choices.

Back to School Rant

I try to be positive and look for the good side of things whenever possible.  I try to remember to always assume good intent in others. But, sometimes? I just need to vent and rant and this is one of those times. Expect me to return to my usual, upbeat self in this blog soon :)

We went to the school yesterday for "Meet the Teachers."  We went as a family, found their bus assignment, argued with Colin about joining orchestra, then headed to their classrooms.

The classrooms are nice-sized, bright and cheery.  The teachers seem nice. I know they'll be fine and I'm sure they'll learn new things and make friends.

But . . .

Colin's teacher made a comment to the effect of "By the time they get to 4th grade, I don't have to remind them how to find their bus, or lunch, or anything.  It's great!" So, I replied "Colin has always been homeschooled, so he may need a little prompting with those type of things."  And her response? "Well, don't worry!  I have an aide and I'll be here, and we'll get him up to grade level in no time, I'm sure!"

Ummmmmmm.  That's not what I meant.  I meant he might need help finding the bathroom or the bus -- not help getting him to "grade level."  His overall average in his online curriculum last year was high 90's and he scored above-average on the standardized tests.  I seriously doubt he'll have any academic issues this year -- but of course if I went down that road I worried that I would be immediately labeled as delusional -- since we all know that homeschooled kids are behind the curve. (even though the opposite is often proved via standardized tests and other means)

Okay.  Assume Good Intent.  Stay quiet. Plaster a smile on my face. Know that my boy will soon demonstrate that he is most definitely at grade level. Move on to the next classroom.

Where I let the teacher know that Nate has a stutter, but he worked with the speech pathologist on campus last year and his IEP is already on file.  We found out that her contract was renewed, and I sighed with relief as she was a wonderful speech therapist and helped Nate learn so many tools to improve his speech.

Then, I told this teacher that Nate had been homeschooled, but that he was looking forward to a new school year. To which she replied to him?  "Well!  You'll have recess!  That'll be great!"

I know I already ranted about this comment, but I just have to again.  I could almost forgive other stupid people for saying it. (And as a couple friends have commented on my Facebook status today -- "oooo, they'll get to use the restroom!"  "Hey! They'll get hot lunch!"  More inane comments, left just to make me laugh, which I appreciated.)

But, a teacher??  You're going to tell my son that the thing he has to look forward to in your class is RECESS? What about telling him about some of the things he'll learn this year?  What about letting him know what units are coming up? Those are the things that my kids would be excited to know about!

As homeschoolers, they had hours of recess each day.  That doesn't mean that they didn't learn, however. (Nate was also in the high 90's average for his online curriculum last year and also scored above-average on standardized tests.) My boys love documentaries. They love visiting museums and really learning about the exhibits.  They have many interests, from space to geology to history. Colin loves to read, and Nate especially loves to read non-fiction. 

They also love cartoons, Pokemon, Bakugan and video games.  But, we have always encouraged a balance and they truly enjoy documentaries and museums just as much.  My kids LOVE to learn.  It's one of the things I wanted to instill in them and so far I've done a great job at it.

Yet, this year I've sent them to school where everyone thinks they should be excited about recess. 

It's a bit discouraging. 

But, I'll continue to assume good intent and continue to do what we've always done at home. Expose them to lots of different things and encourage learning new things.  I am excited about a couple things at their new school, which I'll post about later when I share pictures from when they headed out the door.