Mom School

Cordelia is out of preschool for the summer, sure it was just a total of 6 hours a week, but she loved it. With a little less going on in our lives I was looking to include a bit more structure into our days. So, in a effort to keep the learning going I have started MOM SCHOOL. This is also an attempt on my part to see if home school might be a possibility for us in the future. Yesterday was day one. Cordelia was very excited about the whole thing. I had gotten her jazzed up about it the night before. I picked up a couple of curriculum books and workbooks to help guide me and give me some new ideas.

Yesterday morning, after breakfast and blogging we dove right in. For day one we focused on the body. We had "morning circle," and spent a few hours trying to cover the subject in several different ways. My personal favorite was when we traced her form on a sheet of paper and I had her color it. The first thing she drew in....poop and potty. That's my girl, we're earthy up in here.



Enthusiasm never waned. We read books, we did exercises, we had a great time.  Elise was into it too...in her own special baby way. I think day one was a huge success. Cordelia was eager to start up again today. So I had better get to it. Have you ever tried anything like this? Any recommendations?

Home School?

Picture of me on my first day of kindergarten

Cordelia is about to begin preschool. I can already feel my tears building up. I know she is going to have a blast, she is very social, and her preschool is at a place she already feels comfortable. She will be doing that for the next couple of years and then Eric and I are faced with a very important decision...what do we do next?

Having been through the public education system I feel that, in many ways, it completely failed me. Eric and I worked hard the first year in college trying to make up for lost time and opportunity. Let me share a little example with you; when I was 14 I took an Algebra 1 class. A few weeks into class the teacher took a vote and asked who wanted to learn Algebra. Nobody raised their hands. I can't say that it is because nobody wanted to learn, but nobody wanted to be the nerd who raised their hand. So, the Algebra teacher decided that he wasn't going to bother with teaching anymore. Instead he let us fill up the time. I recall organizing a log rolling race, there were several heats. Another time we dyed the teacher's beard. When I was 14 I thought it was AWESOME! When I got to college and had to struggle to make up for things that I should have learned at age 14 I had a change of opinion about this teacher.

Now, to be fair, I was also touched by some absolutely amazing teachers over the course of my public education. I met my beloved Copeland as an art teacher and my whole life was changed as a result (read a bit about that here). I cannot even begin to scratch the surface of how that one art class changed the entire trajectory of my life.

Eric and I are now at a point that we need to seriously consider what we want to do for these girls of ours.

Do we want to enroll them in public school? Obviously this is the easiest and least expensive choice. I also happen to know and love some amazing teachers. I don't have any guarantee that the girls will get great teachers. Also, the vegan issue will be more pronounced in the public school system and I worry that the girls would be given a hard time.

Do we want to enroll them in private school? Many of the same issues with public school and matched with a price tag.

Do we home school? Initially we worried that the girls would be socially awkward and develop a preference for denim vests and Crystal Gale hair. However, there are some good programs in place in this town that seem to offer opportunities for socialization and outside of the home learning. There is also an online homeschooling program through the state that gets good reviews.

We just are not sure what we are going to do with regard to schooling. Do you have strong feelings on the subject?