In my 21 years of parenting I have approached schooling in many ways. I’ve had children in public schools and in the private school system.  There was also a time when we were frequently moving because of military orders and it made sense to take schooling into my own hands at some points during those moves. There have been issues with the way a child learns or how to best help them glean the knowledge that’s within all those text books and I chose to bring a child home for a year and 1/2 to try to find the holes in their learning, plug them and get the child back into the classroom setting. We’ve worked with tutors and learning centers along the way. In my journey through parenting and schooling I’ve had to face something head on-when choosing to homeschool, both the child AND the parent have to be considered. I have had to be honest enough with myself to face the fact that I am not a parent that is well-suited to homeschooling. I have neither the time nor the space to give it the solid attention that I desire and that it deserves. It’s been a bitter pill to swallow. I have had friends and acquaintances throughout all of my years of parenting who have done a very good, successful and solid job of schooling their children. I have had to realize that it is not for everyone and just because I have a child or a situation that isn’t particularly suited to the traditional classroom setting, doesn’t automatically mean that the answer is for me to become the child’s teacher. Believe me, I have tried this, been successful (enough) at it and still had to accept that it’s not for me.

Many kudos to those that have done and are taking on this immensely, important task in their children’s lives. I TRULY wish I could join you. But we must all face our strengths and weaknesses, be honest about them and then work from there.

Many of you have suggested that my child who is having such a tough time at school and within the structure of the classroom, be home schooled. You have suggested I look at all the people, throughout history who have contributed great things to our world and how they didn’t fit, well, into the traditional settings of school. Thank you. I do see this. I will have to weigh all my options while leaving homeschooling out of the equation.

As for my meeting with the teacher…it could have gone better. I understand that she is just as frustrated as I am with what we are seeing. However, I give her credit for seeing that this isn’t an issue of work that is too difficult-it’s not the curriculum, but an issue of learning to work within the structured environment. I know that some of you are of the opinion that it isn’t particularly necessary for my child (or any child) to HAVE to learn to do this. On this point, we disagree. I feel that it’s important because in all the stages of our lives and in all we must do to be successful, functioning parts of our society require us to learn to work within the perimeters of that structure. We get to choose our outlets, whether they be sports, music or art, where we are able to find the way in which we like to use our time and let our thoughts be free-flowing, but there is always going to be the job that we must go to and the way in which that job must be functioned. If a child doesn’t learn to work within a structured environment and under time constraints, I don’t see how they can fully function, successfully as an adult, in society.

Thank you for all your suggestions and thoughts. I will continue to try to find the best way to give my child the tools needed to become a happy and successful student and growing kiddo.

Onto this day and Doing the Dance of the Children~

If you’ve followed the blog and the show since the early Fall, then you know that this year has brought a lot of change, experimentation and indecision when it comes to schooling. For the last 8 years all my kids have been in the local, Catholic schools. Over the summer I had to make some decisions about schooling based on one of my children. Instead of just focusing on that one child, I made a decision to change everyone’s schooling and pulled 4 kids from the K-8, Catholic school and put my 2 younger boys at the local, public school and my two 7th graders went into a homeschooling program. Once Clay came home, he reviewed the changes I’d made and watched me juggle the house, kids, blog, podcast, writing and homeschooling. To his credit, he agreed that my juggling skills were pretty, darn good, but that one of the girls should definitely go back to the Catholic school to finish out 7th and 8th grade and we could make other decisions for our other daughter as needed. So, off he went to the Catholic school to meet with the principal to see if there was still space and if we could have our daughter come back. Four days later she was back in uniform and sitting in class with her old classmates. We then focused on our other 7th grader and made the decision to stop homeschooling and put her into the local middle school. This was SO hard for me. But, I must admit, she’s doing very well, has met friends and is on top of her work load. Once the girls were settled and doing well, we turned out attention to the 2 boys. They’ve been doing great at the new school. They are both working well above grade level and have made friends that live near by. Our intent has been to let this year play out and then pursue spots for them back at the Catholic school. BUT, time has been sped up. Clay, once again, sat down with the principal and reviewed the openings that were still available. The decision was made that since there are openings now and may not be when it’s time to register and apply for next year, that we jump in with both feet.

So, after beginning this school year with all sorts of change, we are now going to have everyone back in the same school, except the one 7th grader. The boys were really excited to find out the news. It’s nice that they’ve made friends that they will be able to keep, here in the neighborhood. But for schooling, it’s going to be best for them to go back to the program that they were used to and for me to cut down by one school. Whew! This has really been an experience for our family! Leaving the Catholic school and then hoping and praying that the kids could get back in, has made us appreciate the education our kids get there and to know that no matter the cost, that we want our kids in a faith-based environment for their schooling. Yes, we still have one daughter who’s getting a different education, but in her situation, it’s what needed to happen for this year. Hopefully she will continue to excel in the program she’s in and we can reevaluate what the best schooling situation is, for her, for next year.

I’m amazed at how things have changed from when I was a kid. Back then, you just simply went to your local school. It seems that we’ve looked at the schooling for our kids, every year and asked ourselves what the best options are. But now, I feel confident that for as long as we are here, the kids will go K-8 at the Catholic school. As a matter-of-fact, Gabi and Luke-Xavier will both start preschool there, next Fall. I will have 5 kids in one school and on one time schedule! Not to mention the last of the Lang children will be walking out the door and into school!

Wow! Let’s talk about the life-change in that situation another time!

Have a great day~

Over the last couple of days the girls and I have been gathering their school work to organize it and turn it in. Today is the moment of truth. It’s been a challenging first month. They’ve done a good job of sitting down and working and they are always wanting to know what’s next and how to stay on task. It’s been a juggling act for me. I’m confident that we will keep plugging along and that they will both have a successful year. But, I will admit that it’s a big task. With determination and prayer, we will get it done!

Have a great day~