So we've been faced with a new dilemma in our home. We put our youngest in public school in 5th grade for many reasons, but largely because the other's were going to school and I was confident that this kid could not be homeschooled alone. We have a wonderful elementary school in our neighborhood that I often lamented I was not getting to enjoy. So he went in as a 5th grader and we got to experience one year of elementary level education.
He tried different things, but eventually landed in the math bowl team and loved it! In fact his team did well in the state standings and he personally finished the year with a perfect score on his ISTEP math test. They even gave him an award which seemed to confuse him because as he told me later "But Mom, the test wasn't even hard." "Yes, kiddo, that is the point." I assured him. So we skipped 6th grade math this year and put him in 7th grade honors pre-algebra as a 6th grader.
So here is the problem. He is killing it and wants to do algebra this summer at home. (Just so you know, my other kids think he is nuts!) But the kid just loves math and has a gift. But if we do algebra this summer at home, which honestly would be easy, there will not be any math left for him to take at the middle school. The school says we are welcome to drive him to the high school everyday so he can take classes there, but that is not desirable for multiple reasons. Transportation and time are relevant but he is also not a very large kid and we don't really want him with high school kids yet. Not to mention he would be at the same math level as his older brother. (We might never know how motivating that fact alone is to his pursuit of higher math :)
So we are faced with an interesting dilemma. What do we do with the gifted child? I don't know yet, but I greatly appreciate that the school is partnering with us and I am confident we can find a solution. As the guidance counselor said "This is good problem. We like these kinds of problems." She also made it a point to commend us for having done such a great job teaching our kids at home. She said she knows a number of bad examples of homeschooling and as we know "homeschooling" can often be used as a excuse to not educate kids by neglectful parents. But she mentioned a couple times "I don't know what you did, but you did something right." We have smart kids, so it's hard to take too much credit for things given to us by the hand of God. But she also pointed out how different each kid was from each other and how they were a joy to be around but also very much individuals. I will soak in that compliment for awhile and thank God again for the chance to homeschool and just enjoy my kids.
So will next year be some kind of public school/homeschool combo plan? Perhaps. We shall see but I am thankful to have access to so many resources while figuring this out. We recently took our son to lunch and asked him about these ideas and what he thought about it all. As usual, he smiled through the conversation because we were talking about math in general. But when we threw out the idea of trying to find a way for him to go as fast as he wants in learning math, his eyes just lit up. Kind of like Dash from the Incredibles: "I want you to run as fast as you can." says the mom. "As fast as I can?" says Dash with a big smile. "As fast as you can!" assures the mom. Yeah, it felt just like that.
My other kids sing and act and play sports and this kid does too, but his first love is math. How often do you see that? So perhaps homeschooling will be our ticket to helping Dash the math wiz, run as fast as he can! There are bridges to cross, but how is that not Another Homeschool Success Story?
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Character
When my kids were young I largely just wanted them to obey me. Life seemed very chaotic and obedient children make it less chaotic. But kids aren't always very good at obeying. In fact, you have to train them to obey. Part of our daily routine was standing in different rooms, calling their name and giving them m&m's when they came. (Yes, it does sound like training a dog.) But they loved it and to this day, my kids come when I call them and I love that about them.
But as they have gotten older, obedience has been less the goal and more a hope. I hope they will obey the Lord, but we all make choices about what we believe and at some point everyone needs to test the boundaries. I think this is where character starts to play a role.
I know as a parent, I have worked pretty hard to limit the "bad" in my kids life. I am pretty uptight about who gets access to my kids. Thankfully, God has brought some wonderful people into our lives like our piano teacher and martial arts sensei. My son had a great football coach for the two years he gave football a try. But sometimes they get a bad coach or teacher or life just gets unfair and that is when their character or lack thereof is revealed.
Recently, my daughter's swing choir partner was in a fight at school and taken to jail on the day of their concert. It was a pretty crazy day. She spent the rest of the day with another young man trying to learn the dances but he was only able to do one of them. So at the concert that night, I did not beam during her vocal solo but rather when she was dancing alone during the finale with the other swing choir kids and giving it her all. Honestly, I cried through it, it was so beautiful to me. We celebrated the evening with buy one get one free blizzards.
That same night I went to our local playhouse to pick up two of my other kids after their final dress rehearsal before their big play - Mulan Jr. They both offered to stay late and run the entire show one more time for the sake of the double cast lead who had not had a chance to do her final dress rehearsal. Amazingly, they both knew everyone's part and even their blocking and entrances. It was an absolute joy to watch them help this gal while having a blast too. What makes it that much sweeter, is my daughter really wanted the lead and instead got the bad guy. But that didn't stop her in any way from going the extra mile when the need arose. I see that as character. And btw, she nailed the bad guy role. She was larger than life and even had a fight scene, she choreographed herself, where she is thrown across the stage. Once again, I cried watching my kids go the extra mile.
So if we shelter them, can they learn character? To be honest, I worked pretty hard at sheltering them when they were young largely out of fear, and yet the world found its way in. Homeschooling was wonderful for so many reasons. But I also knew that I couldn't really teach my kids about bullies at home or how to discern who will make a good friend. It hurts to watch your kids learn these things. But these things might be more important than algebra and grammar.
So today I rejoice in watching young men and women in my home make hard choices at a level of personal sacrifice. I believe it makes God smile because it certainly makes their proud mama smile. I will consider that Another Homeschool Success Story!
But as they have gotten older, obedience has been less the goal and more a hope. I hope they will obey the Lord, but we all make choices about what we believe and at some point everyone needs to test the boundaries. I think this is where character starts to play a role.
I know as a parent, I have worked pretty hard to limit the "bad" in my kids life. I am pretty uptight about who gets access to my kids. Thankfully, God has brought some wonderful people into our lives like our piano teacher and martial arts sensei. My son had a great football coach for the two years he gave football a try. But sometimes they get a bad coach or teacher or life just gets unfair and that is when their character or lack thereof is revealed.
Recently, my daughter's swing choir partner was in a fight at school and taken to jail on the day of their concert. It was a pretty crazy day. She spent the rest of the day with another young man trying to learn the dances but he was only able to do one of them. So at the concert that night, I did not beam during her vocal solo but rather when she was dancing alone during the finale with the other swing choir kids and giving it her all. Honestly, I cried through it, it was so beautiful to me. We celebrated the evening with buy one get one free blizzards.
That same night I went to our local playhouse to pick up two of my other kids after their final dress rehearsal before their big play - Mulan Jr. They both offered to stay late and run the entire show one more time for the sake of the double cast lead who had not had a chance to do her final dress rehearsal. Amazingly, they both knew everyone's part and even their blocking and entrances. It was an absolute joy to watch them help this gal while having a blast too. What makes it that much sweeter, is my daughter really wanted the lead and instead got the bad guy. But that didn't stop her in any way from going the extra mile when the need arose. I see that as character. And btw, she nailed the bad guy role. She was larger than life and even had a fight scene, she choreographed herself, where she is thrown across the stage. Once again, I cried watching my kids go the extra mile.
So if we shelter them, can they learn character? To be honest, I worked pretty hard at sheltering them when they were young largely out of fear, and yet the world found its way in. Homeschooling was wonderful for so many reasons. But I also knew that I couldn't really teach my kids about bullies at home or how to discern who will make a good friend. It hurts to watch your kids learn these things. But these things might be more important than algebra and grammar.
So today I rejoice in watching young men and women in my home make hard choices at a level of personal sacrifice. I believe it makes God smile because it certainly makes their proud mama smile. I will consider that Another Homeschool Success Story!
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