The Update-FULL update

Since our last update was so boring and empty, I thought I'd ensure this one was full of lots of new things. That's my excuse as to why I have taken so long to write again. And I'm sticking to it. :P

So what's been going on....Well, Elijah decided to start attending school again. This was a long, drawn out decision on every one's part. What he disliked about homeschooling was what everyone typically sees as the benefits of homeschooling! He loves a very structured environment. He loves having a strict line-up of school work, with detailed instructions and alot of what I call "busy work." He even said, "I don't like that we can just up and do whatever each day." What??? That's the COOL part!

I prefer to have a looser approach to schooling. I would have loved to follow his interests rather than stick to strict curriculum. I wanted to do hands on learning rather than text books. But he didn't feel comfortable with this. And to be honest, with 3 children, it was getting incredibly difficult to give him what he wanted and needed, along with what the girls wanted and needed, and still keep my ideals of homeschooling.

It was all dissolving right before my eyes. He was getting *less* than at home than he could have gotten at school. At school, he was getting *more* hands on activities and fun learning. At home, he was sitting at the table, reading textbooks and writing answers, with commotion all around him. While it was as close as I could provide to a structured environment like what he wanted, it was loud and busy and not conducive to learning. And since my reasoning for homeschooling (learning in a more "live" environment) was not what he wanted, I felt lost because now I could see little reason to keep him home.

So off he went. We've put some rules in place as far as after school activities and keeping in close contact with his teacher in order to stay a step ahead of some of the burgeoning social issues we were encountering last year. But he's very happy and I can tell, in my heart, that this is what's best for him.

Charlotte still stays home with me in the morning. She chooses to go to school in the afternoon for free time and "Specials" (gym, music, art, etc.) It's hard to let go of the image I had in mind of us as a total homeschooling family but this "parenting stuff" isn't easy. It's give and take. It's listening to my children and allowing them a voice in our decisions about them. Sometimes, they know better than me about themselves. Who woulda thunk it?