First Homeschool Group Meeting

I got to the library a half an hour early to get ready. I really expected my co-leader SM to be there, but it ended up being a good thing she was running late. I had to ask her to get plates and napkins! eek

The meeting was set to start at 1:00 and at 1:05 we were the only ones there. I was about to get really depressed when two ladies came in with their children.  SM said she recognized both the moms from a walk she had done, and the one mom recognized me from VBS at the other Baptist church in town.

We all hit it off right away; SM apologized for talking so much, but I said, "Isn't that what we're here for?" She took the kids to the other table and did a craft with them while I talked to the moms. The one mom didn't bring her special needs child; she was home with her dad with an ear infection. Both families are homeschooling due to bullying situations. I find that so sad, but our kids sat at the table after the craft was done talking like they had known each other for years.

Both moms left encouraged and that's what SM and I were hoping for. And WE were encouraged, too.

They bought bookbags and want tshirts like ours, so I think it's safe to say they'll be back! Our next meeting will be at my church since the library is spoken for on that day. I think it will work well for what we want to do.

My son said he wished we could meet every Friday. I'm glad he feels that way, but for now, I think twice a month will be good.

New Project + Local Lady = Drama

So it seems that I cannot do "drama-free".

I'm starting my seventh year of homeschooling my kids. I report to a homeschool umbrella group that is over 45 minutes away. Because of the distance we haven't been very involved in their activities. But the way they process the work and the minimal cost is what we like. We pay $50 per year per family and think that's very fair.

I had mentioned to the head of the group that I was thinking of starting a support group at this little corner of the county and she was all for it. She said she'd mention it to people so that if they live closer to me they'd have a group to do activities with. That's very gracious of her! Another mom who also sends her girls to the same dance class Little Girl goes to is going to be my co-leader.

So the drama is coming from a lady who started a group last year in our little town. She joined forces/resources with the church that split off our church. There's no way I'd take my kids to that group. It's ridiculous to think that there aren't enough people in our area to sustain two small groups, but apparently "they" don't like it. The difficult part is that my co-leader works with this lady in the local girl scouts groups.

Over the summer the group organized as an umbrella group and came up with monthly fees for their members based on how many kids they have and their household income. If that's what they want to do, that's fine.

The lady who has caused problems online is not happy that we are starting a new group. She has posted snotty things on my posts, has started posting all over our local Facebook pages, has said very rude things to the lady who is helping me and accused me of stealing "her" name for our group.

I sent her a FB message explaining that I didn't know her group had HAD a name, but that I know their current (new?) name is the name of the church + "academy" (pretentious?). But whatever. I have already had tshirts and bookbags made up, so I told her I'm not changing the name. I also told her to quit posting negative things on my posts. If she keeps it up, I'll report her to FB. I've already blocked her. That helps me not see what she's posting, and it keeps her from seeing what I've posted. Win-Win.

I do not want her to steal my joy in this, so I need to not worry about her or her psycho pastor and his ego.

Here's our logo. :)

I really am excited. The other mom is going to teach an art class and I'm going to teach a music class. This is the book I'm going to use. I'm working on some visuals to go along with the lessons. :) So cool.

I think we'll have some refreshments at our first meeting, so I need to think about that. I've put together a little bio sheet and a sheet with our mission statement on it to hand out at the first meeting. My kids are excited, too. That is a big help.

No more drama!

Echoes and Cobwebs!

Wow. Excuse the dust! It's been awhile!

So. Baby isn't a baby anymore. I think she's going to have to graduate to Little Girl, at least. ;) I don't know how happy she'll be with that new moniker, but I just can't jump any higher right now.

She's very excited about Halloween coming up. Not because of the candy or carving pumpkins. It's all about the costume for her. I tried to get her to find something in her dress-up stuff that would make her happy, but that wasn't working.

She had several ideas that all revolved around sparkly princesses, and on our way to and from ballet class, we whittled them down to one - Elsa. Not my first choice, but what we came up with was an awesome compromise.  I seriously wasn't going to spend $50 on a costume, even if she wore it every day. But I came across a picture in Pinterest that interested both of us.

The Anna t-shirt was what caught my eye. She asked me a bit dubiously if I could paint the front of the shirt like that. I tried to not act offended, and reminded her that I CAN draw AND paint fairly well. Remember this? 

That little stinker looked me in the eye and told me, "I'm not convinced, Mom."

So we decided to go with Elsa (the light blue t-shirt). I told her I could sew a simple, separate skirt and a sparkly, sheer train onto the shirt, but I'm thinking I may use pins so it can be removed for wearing every day. But it looks like we'll be making a trip to the fabric store for paint, glitter, sequins and some fabric. I'll have to locate a long-sleeve white shirt at Walmart. This also covers the problem of staying warm in a princess costume!

And then she mentioned that she does not have long, blond hair. :/ So we ordered this. I think she's almost more excited about the wig than the dress.

She was all excited about the project, and asked her brother what HE wanted to dress up as. No one should be shocked that he said he doesn't CARE about costumes, and in the same breath asked if he could play Minecraft. sigh

Anxiety

A friend mentioned that the local Christian school will be looking for a few teachers in the fall, and asked if I was interested. I laughed it off at the time, but by that night I was seriously thinking about it and panicking.

We enjoy homeschooling for the most part. Sleeping in, flexible schedule, being home with our doggie all day, snuggling on the couch together while we do our work. There's none of the stress of getting out the door in the morning, looking for shoes or belts or homework last minute, no packing lunches, no homework and probably most importantly to me is not handing over the care of my Type 1 Diabetic son to someone else.

So as I was in bed trying to go to sleep, I was a bit overcome by anxiety and the next morning took some of my anxiety meds. I haven't taken any for a few years now.

My kids are both a bit shy at first and I cannot help but think of how they would feel in such a new environment. Both struggle a bit with reading and spelling and writing. My son has started to be belligerent about doing certain work. I know the lady who would be his teacher and she's great. So in my mind I was making pro and con lists but it didn't matter - the anxiety was winning.

I mentioned the possibility to my son and I was a little surprised when his tears started falling. He doesn't want to go. I don't want him to be afraid to go, but I do want him to feel confident about going. I realize that they both may have to go through some discomfort and that it could be a good thing for them in the long run.

So I inquired about the openings. And the pay. And the tuition break. And my husband and I started talking about what it would cost us financially for me to teach. I would be paid almost nothing for a huge amount of work and stress. I told him it made me a bit nauseous to think about teaching there.

I'm not going to do it. It would completely change our whole life, and not for the better. I do think at some point I want my kids to go to a school, but not now and not there.

I'm looking at different online homeschool options for next year. It's possible that the kids would do different programs; his needs are different than hers. But they will both be doing something online.

And I have a calm, peaceful feeling about it.

Stinkin' Cinderella

When we turned the page in Boy's reading book I knew there would be trouble. He gets so upset and stubborn about certain things, and I knew that a story about Cinderella would be a trigger. To be clear, the story was about comparing and contrasting the versions of Cinderella found around the world. It took us an hour to get the 20 minute assignment done.

I read the first paragraph out loud, and told him he needed to read the second paragraph. After a long time of coaxing and threatening, he tried to make a deal. He would read it, but he would NOT say "her" name. It took more persuading and finally threatening that he would not play in his baseball game tonight before he gave in. "Do you know how this makes me feel inside? Like everyone will look at me and think I'm dumb." Seeing that I had already sent Girl to her room so he wouldn't feel like she was laughing at him, I was the only one there. "Everyone, who?" He was so angry, and I was so sad. And frustrated, and trying to not get angry, too.

He started reading, inserting "stupid" before Cinderella's name. I explained that he was being disobedient and defiant, and how that wasn't acceptable either. He finally gave in and we finished the assignment just in time for Daddy to get home for lunch. So you can imagine how beat down I felt when I told Girl she needed to come out and do her math and she yelled, "You're so mean!"

I could throw up my hands and send them to public school next year, but that isn't what I really want. I just want them to cooperate a little.

Vent over; back to math and grammar. sigh