Think She's Comfortable?

My kid doing Home school.. Think she's comfortable?

Moms Have A Very Full Plate

I think the "job" of a woman and mom has increased considerably over the last couple of decades... In the 60's and 70's - a woman got married .. quit her job... had kids... sent the kids off to school... had coffee with the other "house wives" ... came home.. cleaned house... made dinner.... tucked the kids in bed... took a shower... put on something "non-motherly" and.. well you know....

In the 80's and 90's - women were expected to get married.. have kids... after a few weeks off.. bring the kids to daycare.. go to work... pick up the kids from daycare (right before it closed).. rush home.. feed the kids... feed the husband... tuck the kids in bed..... clean the house.... take a shower... and "you know" but more often than not - she went to bed to sleep..... and the divorce rate increased... I think the reason for the divorce increase was that- the wife/mom would be resentful of her husband because many times when he came home - he was tired.. but still expected dinner on the table... the kids in a happy mood for him to enjoy... the house and clothes to be clean.. Many husbands just took things for granted and did not take into consideration that his wife worked all day too..... I really am not bashing husbands here.. Mostly because when they were growing up their moms did stay home and take care of the family.. and that expectation followed them into adulthood... And if a woman decided she wanted to stay home with the kids - many of her friends would look down on her.... and many times the "mom" would feel like she gave up "her life" because she wanted to be a "full" time mom...

Now in the 2000's - things started kind of reverting back to stay at home moms.. Many women gave up their jobs because they believed it was the right thing for their kids... And many times it definitely was... Another thing that really took off was home school... Out here in bloggy land - I have met so many moms who home-school their children... I recently spoke to a fellow blogger whose son was accepted into Duke University... he had started home school when it was frowned upon... Now look at him... It's amazing to me how things evolve....

Even though many moms have chosen to stay at home with the kids... Many of them have found out that they still need to bring in some income into the family... One working parent may not be enough for some families.... Many blogging moms and moms in general are starting up "at home" businesses... The Estsy on line shops are a big one... Blogging is another biggie.... I am a stay at home mom and I am also a self employed mom... And many times I find it so difficult to find a balance...

The cycle is again revolving.. or evolving however you may look at it... I personally see a very full plate for moms... Take care of our kids at home.... Keep the house clean... ( I do have help here every other week).. Make the meals.. Home school our kids (some of us).. AND bring monies in to help support the family.....

How Full Is Your Plate?

Getting Ready For Independent Study #1

The past couple of days my daughter has been watching and participating in her on-line orientation for her new on-line/independent high school. She starts this Monday. In the process of the orientation it asked her to take the LASSI-HS Student test. This is a test with multiple questions - many questions are similar - it's a great way to analyze the test takers true tendencies... I have to be honest here... I was not too surprised with the results... She has a long road ahead of her to get back on track and I pray that I will have the knowledge, the patience, and understanding that she will need to help her in a positive and productive way... There are many prayer warriors out here in Bloggy Land - and I am asking you to please pray for her... and for me and for our family during this major transition in our lives...

In the LASSI test she scored extremely low in five areas - Anxiety, Attitude, Concentration, motivation, and time management.... This is what the test advised her to work on in these areas...

Anxiety - needs to develop techniques for coping with anxiety and reducing worry so that attention can be focused on the task at hand.

Attitude - needs to develop a better understanding of how their academic performance relates to their future life goals.

Concentration - needs to learn to monitor their level of concentration and develop techniques to redirect attention and eliminate interfering thoughts or feelings so that they can be more effective and efficient learners.

Motivation - must accept more responsibility for their academic outcomes and learn to set and use goals to help accomplish specific tasks...

Time Management - needs to develop effective scheduling and monitoring techniques in order to assure timely completion of academic tasks and to avoid procrastination while realistically including non-academic activities in their schedule..

I truly believe that this is the right thing for my girl in this season of her life.. I pray that her direction.. her motivation.. her love for learning... her love for herself will come to her... I pray that she will soon realize how precious she really is....

** image from Picasa

On line School - The Wave of the Future?

The count down begins for my eldest to start home school... I am not sure if we could really call it "home school"... I'm not teaching her - there's no way I could... I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the concepts she is learning now... What I mean by home school is that she will be taking her classes on line through an on line high school that is accredited with all the UC and State colleges.

Tomorrow - her and I will participate in the Master's agreement on line seminar.. This will explain how everything works... I have checked out the site and it's pretty cool.. It's paperless, very detailed, and organized... The organized part is exactly what my "day dreamer" needs... At the end of the month she will participate in a 3 day seminar and then the following Monday - school is in session....

Most of the tests are on line via a web cam... The software is state of the art in technology.. no way for cheating... which is a good thing... Because she will be on the UC/CS track - her finals will need to be at their headquarters.. all other tests will be on line.

Today - I started getting everything ready... Optimized one of the desk tops and added a web cam and mic.. Geek squad will be by soon to connect her desktop with the printers in my office. She will also have the capability to do her classes on her laptop... but for the time being though - she'll do it at a proper desk in the office....

What I like about this opportunity for my kid is that - she can study and learn mostly at her own pace. She is a brilliant girl and can succeed in anything she chooses to do.. The online school makes it possible for her do more... in a less stressful environment... If she wants to do a class in the evening - she can do that too... The stress of getting to school on time will no longer be a problem.. The wasted time between classes... the teacher taking attendance or helping other kids - will no longer exist... All her time in class will be "productive" time... and this is a good thing.

The school is like any other school... It has a newspaper... a yearbook.... community service groups... This is a very exciting for my creative one... She was on yearbook in junior high and loved it... Her talent for the written word is incredible.... Another cool thing is that she can now play more tennis with her coach... She can also take a few cooking classes for fun... Volunteer in the church sports program... take belly dancing classes... The possibilities are endless... In case you were getting concerned... No, not all opportunities will occur in the same time frame... My point is that she will have more time to enjoy herself as a kid... Get the education she needs for her future college dreams.. AND socialize in the right situations...

I have done my research and I believe that on line school is the wave of the future... With our state's deficits and less monies going to public education - it makes sense for on line school.. The overhead is so much lower.... The expense of books is gone - buildings to buy/rent - utilities to pay for.. The teachers work out of their homes... the classes are paperless (good for the environment). I also believe that this will be a good thing for the students.. Smaller class rooms and more individual attention....

I will let you know how it goes...

What are Your thoughts On Home/online school?

Home School Is Not Just For Weird Religious Kids Anymore

I was watching an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer the other day - (one of my the kids' guilty pleasures) and Buffy was talking to her mom about not attending a private school but the possibility of doing home school... Buffy's comment to her mom was "Home school is not just for weird religious kids anymore"... I thought that was funny because my oldest will be home-schooled this Spring and because I am a Christian - I thought some may think (like I used to) that I was using home-school as a way to protect my kids from the real world.... and that is not true.... I am using home school to help my kid to obtain her long term goals...

My daughter is a dreamer... and is easily bored much like I was at her age.. She loses focus and goes off into la la land and before she knows it - class is over and she missed what the assignment was... When she needs that little "extra" help - there are over 30 other kids trying to get the teacher's attention too.... It is difficult to stay on task when there are several things going on around you... It's difficult to do the right thing at times when others are doing the wrong thing and you want to "fit" in... It's difficult juggling several notebooks, class books, notes, and other important things and making it to class in the allotted time frame... and keeping everything organized - I might as well tell my kid to hike to the moon.... Sometimes - no matter how many times you have asked your kid to stay on task... get organized...study.... get good grades... don't forget your homework... don't be late.. - it just doesn't work... It's not that she doesn't want to... she does... It's something she is having difficulty doing and the stress to do it right and keep up - is drastically taking it's toll on her.....

I know I am not smart enough to teach her the things she needs to learn and I am not going to try... She has been accepted into a very good on-line school that is accepted by all the California and nationwide universities... The school offers AP and Honors courses... The difference is that she will have more one on one help.... She will have a counselor that will meet up with her every week... Everything is done via on-line and independent study... No more worrying about making it to school on time... No more 7 hour school days and 3-4 hours a night homework.. The time will always be productive... no more wasted time in classes where the teacher actually teaches for about twenty (20) minutes of the class time... Many times the teacher won't have a plan and will show a movie to pass the time... seriously....

The main question I get from others is "What about Social Skills?" and my question is "What about them?" She has been in a class environment since the age of 2... She is almost 15... If something isn't working... then you need to find something that does.... I will not allow my kid to be a hermit... She will be busy... Doing things that bring her joy.... She loves tennis - she will have more time to play now and will also continue to compete.... She loves kids... She will be an active volunteer in our church's Sports program - over 2000 children go through our sports programs every year... She will hang out with her friends... She will go to dances... She will do what every teenage girl does..

There are many many things that she can do now and obtain a great education with less stress... Like Buffy so eloquently said, "Home school is not just for weird religious kids any more"

A Big Decision - Home School

I am in the middle of making a very unpopular decision (with some). This decision did NOT come lightly... It came from watching my daughter fail when I know she can succeed... It came from talking to countless "experts" in the field of education... It came from the countless times I have had to take privileges away.... It came from wanting more for my kid than what she wants for herself today... It's from getting emails and phone calls from concerned teachers that my kid isn't focused... she is not organized... she is daydreaming... She is all over the place mentally except in the classroom where she should be...

I know there will be a few people in my life that I love who may believe they have the right to give me their opinion of how wrong our decision is... They will believe that they know how it works.. They will have very good intentions... I need the strength... the grace... the "God, please cover my mouth" patience.... I need to accept the fact that I don't have to explain or defend our decisions...... I know my kid.... My husband knows our kid.... And we know - this is the right thing to do for her... and She knows it's the right thing for her.... We are not blindsiding her... It never came down as an ultimatum... or a punishment - it came down to she knows she can't focus with too many distractions and she is tired of getting bad grades when she has always maintained great grades...

Public high school is tough... especially when there are in 39 kids in a class with an overworked teacher who does not have enough time or patience to help kids individually.... It's tough when a child who has a very hard time focusing has other kids that are not on task.. or there's a cute boy that she so happens to have a crush on that is sitting behind her... It's tough when she has to move fast between classes or risk an hour of detention for having a 3rd tardy.. It's hard when there's a biology teacher that gives notes and study details but chooses to make the test so difficult that over 70% of the class fails the test...

A decision is in the making - home school has improved so much in the last few years - there are many more opportunities... home school kids can have advantages that many other kids do not... After much research - prayer - back and forth - We found an on-line program that can have her stay in honors... it can keep her on track - it can go as fast or as slow as she needs... The California UC system gives it outstanding marks... We think this may be the chance to have her shine... The chance to keep her future happiness on track.... her current happiness and self esteem in the here and now where it should be....

As a parent who knows her kid.... I know - she knows this is the best move for her... I am not looking forward to the grief I know I will get... or the judgment... I know the proof will be in the pudding as they say... I have no doubt she will have a great future..... and I know one day she will look back and be thankful that she had parents that cared when she didn't.....