Unexpected Comment

Dude says to me this evening...
"You know, today was a great day.  I had fun at tennis, school was even kinda fun, I had fun washing your car.  Shopping wasn't too fun, but it was OK."

SCHOOL was even kinda fun?  Is that really my son?  We had a long talk this week, about hopes for homeschooling, friends going to school, what I need from them, and why I picked the curricula I picked.  Don't know how long this positive attitude will last.  Maybe as long as I keep consistent with starting school at 8 a.m., or a set time in the p.m. when we have a.m. fun activities.  Maybe as long as I keep the extra activities to the super fun, and not the boring / frustrating / etc.  Maybe as long as I am consistent on my requirements and they realize how much they need to do.  We shall see.

But in the end, today was a great day!

HS Loves

I have tried so many different language arts curricula, changed history, tweaked other things.  But for the past 6 years one constant has remained, math.  Now, I know there are HSers who love Saxon, or Singapore, or Miquon, or many of the other math programs.  And I say great if it is working for them.  But I absolutely love....

Math-U-See

Dude has happily progressed from Primes, through Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and is now on lesson 6 Epsilon.  The only thing left before pre-Alegebra is Zeta!!!  Not too bad for 4th grade.

I also found Easy Grammar and Daily Grams by Wanda Phillips.  Sure wish I had found these earlier.  So far loving them!!!!

School

Wow...a homeschooling friend decided to put her kids in school today.  And school starts MONDAY!!!  Talk about unexpected.  It was just last week they were over and she was asking to borrow my history curriculum.  It makes sense for her family - her husband is constantly traveling and she is tired of being a single mom 24/7.  She isn't exactly happy now, and the only major variable she can change (both house and job require some advance planning) is the schooling option.  So it does make sense.

But wow, what a shock!!!!  And, of course, it makes me rethink my homeshooling journey.  Are they learning enough, are they served well by homeschooling, is our family healthier, are we making the right decision???????  The questions just keep on going. 

Now, I should acknowledge, my friend hadn't thought High School was a possibility, so it was always a question of "when" to put them back in school.  For me, HS IS a possibility, if we are all getting along and the kids are self motivated enough to do the required HS work. 

Anyway, I made DH go through an hour of looking at the kids bookwork that I have selected - and we have been using - to make sure we are A - OK.  Yes, I do realize these are probably normal concerns of a HSing mom.  But my friends change to school was so unexpected I needed a reality check!