End of the school year 2010-2011

School is out. I am still having a hard time wrapping my brain around that one. It doesn't feel like summer break. It hasn't really hit me that I get the kids home for the next 9 weeks. I am super excited to have this time with them to go play and be together. It is just weird because another school year flew by, and I didn't haven't had any closure yet.

Anyway, here is my wrap up for the 2010-2011 school year. We had a super tumultuous year. Big time. The kids were jerked around and had to deal with lots of changes, but they all ended up in the best place for them academically and all are flourishing. It just took a bit of a mess to get them there. Here is the nutshell version of what they've been dragged through:

We started off the year off at SCVi -- a nearby charter school. We had been delighted to finally get in. We were also delighted to get out. Scary, scary, scary. Megan and Ty were transferred back to their old public school, but I had Nathan stay there because he was on a wait list for the Albert Einstein Academy (AEA), another charter school that I had heard glowing and wonderful things about (he would go off the top of the wait list if he was trying to get in from the Saugus School District). In January we finally got a call that there was an opening. Megan was pulled from public school in February so I could home school her (more below). Now each child is learning at a different location -- sometimes I feel crazy running around everywhere for drop-offs/pick-ups, but they are all flourishing and are happy where they are, so it is worth it.

Nathan (6th/7th Grade)
The poor guy has had to deal with so much this year. He was bullied relentlessly at SCVi. Horribly. He started off in sixth grade, and was accelerated to 7th. He has been forced to mature. How has he coped with all of this? Marvelously. When he was being bullied he stayed strong. It made him stronger. He drew closer to me and the Lord. I see it as a refining fire. It was hard for him to skip 6th grade -- socially (he was the youngest in the grade anyway, now he is 1-2 years younger than his peers). Academically, he is doing fine. He finally is being challenged and he isn't bored anymore. Socially, he was immature for his age, which could have been a recipe for disaster moving him up to 7th grade. However, it has been a blessing for him. He is growing up. He is watching his peers and maturing. Finally. Thank heavens. The workload at the school has been an adjustment for him. He was used to homeschooling (no homework), and then he was at SCVi (no homework again), and then to AEA (several hours a night). It hit him like a ton of bricks, and he has had to adjust and throw it into high gear. It was super hard at first, but he is developing good study skills and is becoming a good student. I am proud of him and I am so happy to see all the areas that he has grown in this year.

Megan (4th grade)
Megan has been jerked around also. Pulling her and and bringing her home has been such a blessing for her. She had so many gaps in her knowledge from her time at SCVi, that she was just lost when I put her back in public school. Her teacher made no effort to catch her up, and she was just unhappy. When I pulled her in February, I decided to start at the beginning of her 4th grade curriculum, to make sure that all the holes were filled. We skipped lessons and units when she knew the info, and she is almost done with the entire school year's worth of lessons (all in four months!). We are going to continue science and history over the summer (which is fine -- I make the kids do 30-60 minutes of school everyday anyway so their brains don't leak out their ears). She is flourishing academically and loves to learn. I have seen a huge attitude change in many subject areas. She is becoming an excellent student and is going to cruise through next year's 5th grade curriculum. She doesn't miss a brick and mortar school even one little bit.

Tyler (Kindergarten)
Ty had a hard time going back to regular school. It was an adjustment for him. The K class at SCVi was so freeform, and he didn't really learn much (that's an understatement). He had begun the year reading a bit already -- he just needed that extra push. He regressed at SCVi and developed a negative attitude about reading and learning. When he was moved, he came into a K/1 split with a lot of high functioning kindergartners. He was definitely at the bottom of the class academically -- I could tell his teacher was concerned about him catching up. I worked super hard with him on a daily basis teaching him, as did she, and now he is at the top of his class. He loves school and loves reading. His teacher loops her K students, so he should be in her class again next year, which would be wonderful. She is an amazing teacher -- one of the best that we have had -- and I am delighted to know that Ty will be in good hands for first grade. Yikes -- first grade? When did my little boy grow up?

As always -- he loves to make faces. These are shots from both last fall and this summer. Can you tell which photos are from which? :)
Myself
Yeah, no beginning and end year picture of me. That's ok. I have grown a lot this year too. I have had to evaluate myself as a mother. I have had to make a lot of tough choices. I have had to rely upon the Lord and the spirit a lot to guide me in doing the right thing for my kids. Every once in a while I panic about moving Nathan up. Each time I do, the spirit reassures me that I did the right thing; that he is in the right place. I am so grateful for my kids. I am so grateful to be homeschooling again. For a while, there was a time when I was kid free during the day (it was only for a few hours -- Kindergarten was 1/2 day at SCVi). In the beginning it was fun to have that time. But, as crazy as it sounds, I am happier with Megan home. I love the time I have with her. Our relationships has changed a lot. We are so much closer and I am grateful for that (the same thing happened when I had Nathan at home -- it was wonderful). I feel like a better mom. I am more patient and understanding when I am in teacher mode. I know it doesn't make sense, but I would rather be home schooling than be kid free. I am planning on keeping her home until she is old enough to attend AEA with Nathan, which will be in two more years. I don't know if I will be able to let her go. Maybe I will have to pull Tyler. . . I joke about it, but you never know. He actually prayed the other day that I would home school him once he was a fourth grader. Too cute. I am happy to have this school year over -- mainly because that means no more homework for two months. I look forward to playing every day. It should be a good summer.