This year was a year of transition for me. Josh decided to enroll in the local public high school as a junior both to be eligible to play soccer in the state of Indiana (the law does not allow homeschooled students to play public school sports) and also to experience public school for himself. I had a really hard time letting him do this, but have always told my kids that homeschooling was a choice and that if they ever felt like they wanted to try public school it was their right to do so. It was really hard for me to stay true to my word, but I did it. Overall, I really think Josh was glad that he chose to go to public school, but there were definitely some bumps along the way that I don't think he anticipated. I know that Josh had some very specific issues with homeschooling that I think he thought would be fixed immediately when he went to public school. It was a bit of a shock to him when he realized that those same issues he had at home followed him to public school. He did a great job grade wise - he ended up with all 'A's and 'B's as final grades both semesters. Academically, the transition was pretty seamless and I am proud of the job that he did.
Andy finished his senior year. I don't think it has really hit me yet that Andy is done with schooling at home. To be honest, I don't think it will hit me until I begin homeschooling Elizabeth in the fall and Andy is no longer in my lesson plans. Andy did a great job this year. He had some very specific learning goals and I let him have a bit free reign in reaching those goals. By and large, he completed what he set out to do. He checked in with me each week and wrote down what his specific weekly goals were and at the end of the week I would check in with him to see if he completed the tasks he set out to do and he almost always did. Sometimes some academic concept would give him a bit of trouble and he would need to spend a bit more time than originally allotted mastering the concept, but he would hammer away at it until he grasped it. Unlike the other kids, I have always been a bit more hands off with Andy in terms of what I required of him academically. I think in part this is because he just learns differently and needs his own space to figure things out. I call him my mad scientist because his brain seems to grasp difficult concepts (to me anyway) with much more ease than what most would consider easier concepts. Things like spelling and grammar have always been difficult for Andy to completely grasp; whereas scientific methods or trigonometry were easier for him to understand.
Sarah had a pretty amazing year. She completed her 8th grade year of schooling. With the help of a tutor provided by the local public school, Sarah now knows the entire contracted braille language. She is about half-way through Nemath math and should be completely ready to begin her Algebra class in the fall when school begins. Sarah met twice a week with an amazing braille tutor beginning in late October of this past school year. I still did all of Sarah's homeschool studies with her while her tutor focused solely on the braille portion of reading/writing/nemath math. I really think that this was Sarah's best year academically. She learned so much both with her tutor and at home.
Last, but never least, Miss Elizabeth completed her 6th grade year. Elizabeth had a breakthrough year academically. Elizabeth is a lot like Andy in her learning style. Reading and spelling are difficult for her and she has always struggled with both. Reading to me, is the gateway to true education. If a person can read, they can learn anything. Elizabeth not being at grade level for reading has been a concern of mine for a while, but I also knew that she would eventually pick it up. She has the benefit of having three older siblings so I am a bit more chill and relaxed about some educational things with her. I knew that eventually she would pick up reading faster/better/at grade level, I just had to give it time. Lo-and-behold this was her year. Elizabeth began reading a chapter book series called The Land of Stories. She loves this series and is reading through the books one at a time out loud to me. She enjoys reading them and will usually ask if she can read more than we planned on reading. This book series has been life changing for her because it has caught her up (almost) to where she needs to be. She enjoys reading and it is no longer a chore. THIS is what I was hoping for. Her spelling has also gotten better, although there is still work to be done. The spelling curriculum I finally settled on with Andy I actually use with Elizabeth and it works wonders for those kiddos who struggle with spelling. Just like with Andy, I have seen major improvement in Elizabeth's spelling. We will continue to work together to get it to where it needs to be. Elizabeth is incredibly bright in math and we will actually be skipping a grade level of her curriculum next year and she will be doing 8th grade math as a 7th grader.
While this year had a lot of highlights academically, as a mother I had a really hard time with this year. I missed Josh immensely and it was hard knowing that this was Andy's last year with me. The best thing about homeschooling the last 5 years prior to this one is that I have always had all of the kids with me. We were always learning together and taking trips together. I am happiest when I have my whole tribe together. When the six of us are together I truly feel like we can conquer the world. It has been a bit harder for me to let go of my kids as they grow away from me into lives of their own. Of course, I always knew that this is what is supposed to happen as kids grow; the concept of this wasn't foreign to me, but the application of it has been much harder for me than I realized.
Next year will be no different than this one in terms of transitions. Andy will begin taking a couple of classes at the community college either in the fall or the spring semester. Josh will be returning to the public school for 1 semester of his senior year and then is coming home the second semester to complete his studies at home and will graduate with a homeschool diploma like Andy. (There is a long story behind that.) Sarah will be entering the public high school as a freshman. Elizabeth will be the lone child home with me (which is going to be immensely beneficial to her). The forecast for the next few years seems like each year will bring some drastic new changes with kiddos going to college and/or entering the public school system. The plan is to finish up homeschooling Elizabeth in the next two years in order to have her enroll in the local public high school when Sarah is beginning her junior year there. (Now, I know that a lot can change in even just a year, so we'll see what ends up happening, but for now that is the plan.)
Overall, it was a pretty good year. I am glad it is over and am ready to begin the summer with everyone home. As much as all of these changes are hard for me I am also looking forward to them. In fact, I am already looking forward to the school year ahead.
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