School Dilemma

Ok, you may be thinking..."What's the big deal? Just put your kids in a real school like everyone else and be done with it. Let the professionals teach your kids." Oh, don't go there or get me started. I have plenty of ammo for this kind of argument and I can rumble with the best. No, I won't get on "ye old soap box" right now, but I will say this, its not easy.

For the last 3 years, my meager wages that I make part time have been going to pay for the childrens schooling. $200.00 a month for the books, regular testings, tutoring and record keeping is not bad, for private/homeschooling four children. It was good for us, for a time. It taught the children the importance of having deadlines, the pressures of real life, ie. tests etc. It was also becoming drudgery, lifeless and all facts and data for them. School had become no fun at all for them. We had no time for the extras that we use to do before. It was all they could do to finish the workbooks a day and meet the contious deadlines, lest we recieve the ever dreaded "nasty gram" from the school. The rules kept changing to put pressure on the sudden flood of public school kids that the school system would no longer tolerate. They were told upon suspension or expulsion, "Go to Gateway." It's a Christian private/extension school for homeschooling families not a place for juvenile delinquents. Don't get me wrong, this is probably the first time in some of these kids lives that they had ever heard God or Jesus NOT used in a derogatory way, but the kids who are good, timely students are suffering. Mine were. My almost 12 year old daughter looked at me just the other day and asked, "Isn't there a dress code? That guy's pants are down past his butt and all I see are his boxers. EWWWW. What about that girl, I thought we weren't allowed to wear sleeveless shirts or shirts that expose the midriff?" While sitting in the testing center, I could over hear kids using some nasty language and the subject matter was not good either. There have been drug busts in the parking lot and a bomb threat. Dumb kid, called the threat in on his cell phone. DUH! The rules kept changing too. Any test that scored under a 75 had to be retaken. They could opt for a new book and take the test over with a clean slate or just study the old book and average the two test scores. Then they told me last week, "If they get done before May 19 they have to take any pack over that was an 84 or less." Well, my kids probably won't get done before then but I'll be hanged if I make my kids take a test over that was done last semester, I mean come on. I averaged up all the grades for the whole year to this point and my oldest has an A average and the 3 younger ones have B averages. That is pretty great if you ask me, so I am not worried. I told them, if you have to wait for a week to finish the very last book, fine with me. My youngest daughter absolutely hates it. She is literally in tears sometimes. The school has become so militant about how many pages a day you have to do and blah, blah, blah, it's getting to be worrisome. All 4 kids are super stressed out.

Well, no more. I am taking back the school work. I use to be the one to teach, plan, set the deadlines, turn in the certificate of enrollments to the Board of Education. I guess maybe I had gotten lazy and relegated the responsibility, in part, to the private school. We did it for 3 years, now its time for a change.

I started "shopping" for curriculum 2 months ago and the catalogs have been coming in slowly. OMGosh was I out of the loop on that! I use to do Bob Jones University and they have become outrageously exspensive and the books I have (teachers books etc.) are now obsolete. Then, I looked for the same curriculum that the school used, Accelerated Christian Education and that was exspensive too. The school won't sell the curriculum, harumph! I also looked at Sonlight Curriculum Ltd. and that was very complicated to me, as well as exspensive. I was beginning to think I was going to have to start going to the used homeschool bookstore and try to figure out our own school curriculum.

This morning, after weeks of prayer and trying to talk to hubby about it, I saw a white envelope on my desk. I picked it up and turned it over to look at it. "Oh, I remember this, we got it the other day and I never looked at it." I was thinking, "Great, I bet this will be a bust too." Boy, was I wrong! It is a simple little catalog from Christian Liberty Press but it was like it was made just for us. It isn't all books from just their school, there are some A Beka (which is exspensive but challenging) for science and grammar. They use Saxon math and Steck - Vaughn as well. There is a lot of literature, history, Bible study, etc. I can break it down into manageable pieces and keep it stimulating. It's not all book work, but there is quite a bit and lots of reading. My son looked at the catalog and asked if I could get him the Creative Writing book too! Everyone is excited and asking when I will order their school work! They aren't dreading it! Another great thing is the science is very hands on, projects and experiments! There will be art too. So, I think I will plan the week like so:

Math / Mon-Thur (all)
English / Mon-Thur (all)
Phonics & Reading/ Mon-Thurs (all)
Spelling/ Mon-Thurs (all)
Writing/ Fri (oldest son)
Biographies/ Fri (all)
Bible Study/ Mon-Fri (all)
History/ Mon-Thurs (all)
Government/ Fri (oldest son)
Science/ Mon-Thurs (all) and Fridays for projects & experiments
Art/ Friday

Looks like a plan, we'll see as I get the books in etc. All of the curriculum will cost me $653.90 + shipping & handling. So, here's the better thing; I can order the schoolwork for the kids, using my paycheck over the next 3-4 months and then for 9 months we'll have that extra $200 a month for gas, lunches and field trips out and of course household bills, instead of paying the school. How cool is that?

Oh well, I have to feed the kidos and hubby is going to actually be home early for a change tonight. Ya'll have a great evening!
katcha