Cleaning/School

So, I've had this blog for, what, a month or so? One of my first posts was about re-arranging furniture. Well, I did it again. My office is in a totally different configuration. I'm trying something different because next week school starts, and I want things as neat and organized as I can get before the chaos starts. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm feeling a little daunted because this will be the first year that I'm officially working with 2 kids. The end of last year, I did work with M, and I'm glad I did. She is going to totally bypass the kindergarten curriculum and jump into the first grade stuff. I know some who don't want to push their kids when they are young, and I don't necessarily see it as pushing. I see it as giving them the opportunity to shine. I think having them in a good Montessori preschool in Idaho showed me that handing over the reigns to the kids in a controlled environment leads to more motivation on their part. We had a bad end to last year with B. But honestly I think she was just burned out. She has been complaining that she doesn't want to start back up with school, but doesn't every kid do that? I am planning on being fairly strict with our routine. That way we ALL know what is expected, which gives less rise to conflict...after the initial testing of boundaries. Doing this all with S trying to be in the middle of it all is going to be interesting, but we'll manage. If nothing else, this school at home thing had taught me that persistence is the key to many solutions. Well, that and a a lot of deep breaths and a good bottle wine!

Comments

  1. Princess New YorkAugust 27, 2008 at 2:29 AM

    Welcome to this new blog! Found you through Stage Dives :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. KirstenAugust 27, 2008 at 7:26 AM

    Thanks for stopping by, 52 faces.

    ReplyDelete
  3. anniemcqAugust 28, 2008 at 10:05 PM

    I so admire that you are doing this. I could no more do homeschool with JH than,... well, I don't know what. He really thrives at school, and is a great student, and luckily has teachers who challenge him. It's funny, because I work in a school, and can carry out all those duties with other people's kids, but my son and I are just too close, I think.

    ReplyDelete
  4. KirstenAugust 28, 2008 at 10:18 PM

    anniemcq - it's funny, I once said that there was no way I could teach my kids. You know what, it's totally a mental thing. It's like anything else. If you truly believe it is the right choice for you, then it can work. Don't get me wrong, we have days where I want to throttle them because they know each other so well that they drive each other batty. But then today I found a note my oldest had written to my middle girl. It said "Dear M. I had fun with you yesterday. I'm glad yor (sic) my sister. I love you. Love, B"

    OMG, made me all weepy again. That sentiment never comes out verbally. B is too much of a "I've got it under control" kind of girl. I'm saving this note!

    Anyway I just wanted to share that.

    ReplyDelete

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