There are some changes in store for this big guy. Come September he is going to school! Okay I said it! I'm not going to homeschool my oldest.
Let's backtrack a bit....
In July my parents watched the kids for us so we could go out for Michael's birthday. While on our date we were driving through downtown Orting and I saw the schools and just blurted out....do you think we should send Owen to school? It had been something I'd been thinking about for a while but like all mothers that start something we don't want to not finish it. I had planned homeschooling him for forever I guess. I always knew that I would take it each year at a time, but I in no way thought that I would "give up" this quickly. After talking with Michael and hearing his thoughts on the subject we were pretty sure that public school might be in Owen's future. My thinking had always been we'd homeschool until 6th grade and then put the kids in public school, but that's what Michael did...well he went to private school and then public school, but it's the same sort of thing. He said it was really hard transitioning to public school at that age. His thought was that we should put the kids in public school now and then take them out when they get to middle school. The reasoning behind this change is frankly Owen needs more than I can give him. He is so bored at home. He needs interaction ALL. THE. TIME! He needs to be challenged and have a longer structured day. We were going to meet at Miss Kim's 4 days a week and then also work more at home, but with having 4 other small children to look after it's just not something I can do right now. So starting on September 5th he'll be going to 1st grade. I've already bought his school supplies. I'm actually really excited for him. I never went to public school so it's like my first day too. I'm excited for him to be entertained, make new friends (although he says he has enough friends) and learn new things. It's a huge change for our family and I know it won't be all sunshine and roses, but I think it's the right fit for Owen right now!
As for Jack and Ella...they will still be homeschooled at Miss Kim's. We will be keeping our same schedule that we had last year of meeting on Monday's and Friday's. Jack and I will also do some work together in the afternoons the other days while the other 3 sleep. I'm really looking forward to giving Jack some one on one time.
As for making sure that Owen still gets bible time I thought that we would have some time after school. Owen will be at school from 8:15 - 2:45 so I thought when I pick him up at 2:45 we'll come home and have snack/bible time.
If there are any other mom's out there that have gone from homeschooling to public schooling their children I would love to hear any advice that you have to offer.
Oh, girl! You KNOW I can relate to this! I had such a hard time giving up on homeschooling. I felt like I had failed. Like I was not as good as the mom's who have 12 kids and love every minute of staying home with them. But once we ripped off that ol' bandaid and took the plunge I realized it was the best decision for our family and didn't even think twice about Norah going to public school as well.
ReplyDeleteAs far as advice goes. I guess just prepare for him to likely be exhausted at the end of the day, especially at first. Elliott only went 1/2 day last year and even then it was a huge drain on him, not only physically but emotionally as well. You may want to shift the timing of when you do your bible time depending on Owen's mood/energy level when he gets home. He may just be totally overloaded by the time he gets home and may need some free time and a chance to decompress before he has anymore learning expectations placed on him.
I so know what you mean about him needing to be entertained ALL. THE. TIME. That is Elliott, too. And that just makes it really hard to keep peace in the home (without letting him be in front of a screen for 12 hours a day!) with so many other kiddos. I hate that I have turned into the mom that is counting down the minutes until school starts again, But ya, I'm ready!
Blessing to your family as you start this new adventure!