A few mid-year thoughts...

Some pros of homeschooling:

1. When you get a problem correct, you may jump up and do the happy dance.
2. When your discussion of history gets to Jackie Robinson, you can watch 42 for educational purposes (popcorn included).  This is especially nice on "sick days."
3. Activities at 4-H count for school work.
4. We get to spend time as a family every single day.
5. Our schedule does seem to be more manageable, of course we have only had one team sport to work around.

Some pros for school:
1. Organized sports teams.
2. Spending time with friends every day.
3. Students that need to have structure and activity, have it!
4. Music, art, PE are included.
5. Amazing teachers that love to teach.

We are in the season of evaluating how things are going this year.  In the end I will have learned ten times what everyone else has learned.  I am seeing tendencies in my children that don't come up at school, of course we saw tendencies at school that didn't come up at home as well.  I am very grateful that some of my children stayed at school this year so that I can focus on the ones that really needed the extra help.  We are honing in on who needs help in which areas, now it is figuring out how to address those needs most effectively.  I have a tendency to always think I should be doing more, and in some areas that may be true, but I have definite limits.  The limits are the trick.  How do I give my kids the most that I can given my limits?

At this point none of the kids are asking to go back to school.  Occasionally one of the school kids will ask if they can stay home.  Yesterday they finally gave me a good reason why they would like to be at home.  They said that they felt like the discussions at home were more applicable to their life.  At school they are focusing on remembering the information for the test, not putting the information in context and applying it to their life.  I know that they have some fabulous discussions at school, so I suggested that maybe they need to listen with a different perspective.  I have been very fortunate to have some friends that are letting my kids join in with their kids.  They have more experience and are really challenging my kids in a way that I know that I can't.  For those particular kids I am really happy with how this year is going.  I have a couple that are probably enjoying being home just a little too much.  I am praying about those.  They may need to be back at school for all of our own good.

I think the thing that has helped me the most, is to realize that great education can look very different for different students.  There is no right way to educate a child.  The most positive thing is to encourage them to be curious and develop their imagination.  If they feel like they are always behind, and they don't like what they are doing their imagination will suffer.  Some kids need more time to ponder ideas.  Some kids need to ponder in a quiet place.  Some kids need to hash out ideas with other people and discuss what they are thinking.  Some kids need more repetition.  Some kids get bored with busy work.  The trick is to find what inspires each student and to encourage them to be willing to make mistakes.  I will say that across the board my kids will do better work if they know that they will have to show it to other kids their age.  They will give me the least possible effort most of the time, but if they have to read it to a friend they step up their game.  I have been very blessed by older moms that are willing to take a couple of kids at a time and have them work together even just once a week.  The quality of work is vastly better in those situations.  Of course at school that incentive is there at all times, and at home it takes some planning.

This has been a really good week, which is totally unexpected.  I had one child home sick for a few days.  A couple of kids are out of town.  I have had extra little ones from time to time, and somehow it has all been very good.  Not all weeks are like that.  I am thankful for the privilege of being able to be home with my kids.  Even to have that as a possibility is a huge blessing.  I am holding the whole thing very loosely knowing that every year is a little bit different.  For now will call this last semester a good transition.  I am expecting this coming semester to go a little bit better.  As for next year, I think there will be some changes, but nothing major (Lord willing).