Homeschooling AND charter schooling

This is hard when I have littles. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that we only have one car. So in order to go anywhere, we have to get up at the crack of dawn and take Corey to work. I've always been so adamant that the children get enough sleep. Waking them up early disrupts the whole thing. I hate having to wake sleeping babies; it seems so cruel. And then I usually have to wake them again when it's time to pick Corey up. It's awful.

My friend made a comment on FB about how she wishes she lived close so we could have our own co-op. Ever since, I've been dreaming about how wonderful it would be. I would want a place that would provide fun classes like art, music, sewing, cooking and let him socialize with other kids. I would still handle all the academics myself as that is why I am homeschooling in the first place, I just want something fun. Unfortunately, nothing like that exists around here and I already have too much on my plate to try and start one myself.

So instead, we tried doing two things to help him make friends; a local homeschooling group for young boys and park days. I struggle so much with being a helicopter parent, so I try not to and I'm not sure how well it's working out. It's chaotic and loud. I've noticed that in both of these groups the children are so polite. So very, very polite. I've heard horror stories about some homeschooling groups, so it's not them, it's just not what I'm looking for right now. I can't even say why it's not working out, other than a feeling I have. I'm not really good at the whole revelation thing, so it's hard to say if it's truly revelation that this isn't for us or if I'm just being a whiny brat who would rather stay home.

My friend told me that she does uses a homeschooling program through a charter school. She was telling me all about it and I was so excited. The charter school lets homeschooled kids come either 1 or 3 days a week or you can do it online. They support the parents with their goals and progress. Because it's publicly funded and by golly, we pay our property taxes, they can order up to $300 worth of material for Pigby to use and we'll be able to keep it. This is a very big blessing right now as Pigby is about to move up a level in math and I have really been prompted to switch to All About Spelling.

The one day a week option is what I wanted. My main reason for homeschooling is to challenge him academically (not a whole lot right now, but as he grows). I don't buy into public school is evil and there's been some kind of conspiracy to create mindless drones. That may be the result in some cases, but I highly doubt it was the intent. Since the program is all day long and he's only in kindergarten, the three day option was more than I was comfortable with. If he's gone most of the week, when would I be getting the academics in? Also, the school is far away and driving that much would seriously stress our finances.

So I emailed the school. No response. I called the school and left messages. No response. FINALLY, I got a hold of the lady who coordinates the homeschooling program and she said the one day a week option was full for kindergarten, leaving the online or 3 day option. To say I was devastated would be a major understatement. We decided to go with the online option and get put on a waiting list for the one day option in case a slot opened up. The lady told me all the paperwork that I needed to bring to enroll him.

I was so nervous as we drove to the school that I gave myself a tummy ache. I don't know why, it was just the online version, nothing terrible. But I was praying so badly that something would open up so we could do the one day a week version.

I lugged the double stroller out and put Chuck and Digby in. In situations like these, it's best if Digby is harnessed somehow. We went in and waited to meet with L. After a few minutes, we went back into her office and started filling out paperwork. Then we got the best news of all: the Kindergarten teacher was willing to let Pigby come on Thursdays!!! It won't be exactly like the Wednesday program, but it was sufficient for our needs. So now Pigby will be going to school one day a week.

I am fully aware of all the cons associated with this choice. The money we get in curriculum will likely not outweigh what we pay in gas to get there. By attending a charter school, he will be subjected to standardized testing (if he's still there when they do it, he won't have to do any this year). This is not a big deal to me as I was planning on testing him every year anyway (when he got to third or fourth grade, not this year). He is already ahead of what they're doing. I already knew his math and reading were above grade level. I had thought his writing was at grade level. But he asked his teacher if he could write on her whiteboard and he wrote his name. She assured me that he is above grade level for that. She is able to accommodate him and let him work above grade level in all those areas, so I'm not worried. Hopefully this is the right choice. If I were to base it on gut feelings, then it most certainly is. Time will tell and we'll readjust if necessary.

He's excited. He was begging to go to school and now he can. He was begging for friends to play with and now he will. He'll be going from 845-315. He'll have three recesses, two snacks and a lunch. He'll wear a uniform (khakis and a red, white, or blue shirt). He'll have a cubby and a place to hang his backpack. I am hoping this proves to be the best choice for him.