A New School Year

Fall is in full force here in Boise and I've adjusted to the fact that it isn't still summer. After all, whoever heard of cool weather in September? :)

As I sit here to write my various updates, I realize I still have several pictures to download from my camera. As life is pretty busy these days, I know it's either write the blog without the pictures or put the pictures on my to do list and let the blog sit for an indefinite period of time. I'll just write.

School this year is a mixed bag. I'm homeschooling John full time through a charter school for homeschoolers. They're basically there for support, to make sure the standards are taught, and to provide curriculum materials. I still get to set the curriculum, pace, assignments, grades, etc, but they pay for approved materials, which is nice. They also have all kinds of extra stuff. John is in Drama Club and Future City Team club (I'm sure I'll blog more about that in the future), and he goes down to the school for a few hours every Friday for teacher-guided activities in science (including labs), history (including virtual field trips), etc. It's pretty cool. He also bikes down to the Y every day or two (the school paid for that membership as well), and has earned the Cycling Merit Badge in scouts (which included a 25-mile and 50-mile bike ride). He's down to a healthier weight and is looking and feeling good.

I do believe homeschooling was a good decision for John this year, and I'm glad I decided to do it. He's definitely still healing and how I run schooling with him keeps that in mind. I am, however, hopeful that John will be ready to go back to the public school full time next school year. Homeschooling is time-consuming and I have to manage the schedule carefully to keep from becoming a burned-out lunatic. ;) There's a technological high school here that teaches computer programming, web design, etc and John is very interested in attending. We've talked to several people who go there (along with their parents) and I hear nothing but good things about it. It seems like a good fit for him, so hopefully he'll get in (they have a lottery) and he'll enjoy it and do well.

Ben started at the Math and Science school and enjoys it, though he's adjusting to being so challenged. I had thought he could attend the junior high (which is on the same campus) for his humanities classes, but that school is in a different district than the one we live in and they don't start junior high until 7th grade. Ben is in 6th grade. I didn't realize we had this issue until we got back from Arizona. I spent a few harried weeks trying to figure out what to do with him for the first half of the school day, and ultimately decided to homeschool him in the mornings. That turned out to be an excellent decision. Because John and Ben are so close in age, it's easy to teach them both English and History using mostly the same curriculum. It's been really fun having Ben with us in the morning and I think it's made the overall experience more positive.

Chris started at a new charter school that is, unfortunately, a 20 minute drive from the house. I truly don't mind the drive, but then I realized I'll be making the drive in the snow a handful of times and we have to come off the hill so I'm not looking forward to that. Fortunately, winters are pretty mild here. Anyway, Chris LOVES his new school. He's already made friends and has a new best friend, with whom he's already had several play dates. His friend lives on 5 acres with cows and chickens and trampolines and the whole nine yards. Boy heaven. These two are so cute together. Chris also loves his teachers and the academics side of the school as well (I'm happier with this school for that reason too and it is SUCH a relief that my little Chris is no longer being bullied). Chris even gets to do homework on the computer. How high tech kids are these days! He's coming out of his shell more and more. It's nice to see the old Chris again. He's doing really well.

So that's the craziness we have this year. We're still going to grief group (which started again just a few weeks ago) and everyone's in counseling. Between that and scouting, we're kept pretty busy. Some people have mentioned to me that they keep my boys in their prayers, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. They do need it and I'm sure it helps.