They're finally accepting it...

So much of the "when does he go to school" question lately, but we have explained, either in person or by email, to everyone in our families, that we are homeschooling. We have been homeschooling since, well maybe not quite since birth, but you get what I mean. C.O. is a lot more relaxed now that he's sure he won't be going away 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. Think about it - that's an awfully long time for a child that been away from his mom and dad only to visit with other family, and for a couple of hours here and there playing with friends! It's too long for me too. One of my major arguments against public schooling has always been that I did not have children to send them away or for them to have another adult (one we don't even know) be the primary role model they're exposed to.

My mom hasn't said anything directly to me, but I think my letter to her made an impact. She is seeing/saying that there are opportunities for homeschooling in just about every situation! For example, there was a very recent earthquake here, first one for the kids. C.J. was asleep, so she missed it, but C.O. was sitting on his bed drawing - I went in to see if he was okay, and he was just sitting in the middle of his bed, wide-eyed "what was that, Mommy?"... We took it as an opportunity to look in the illustrated encyclopedia we have, to learn about the structure of the earth and why earthquakes happen. The next day, I overheard/saw him explaining (and demonstrating with his hands) to my mom how the plates in the earth's mantle/crust shift, etc. It was so cute. She made a comment - I can't remember exactly what - something like I have good presence of mind to use something that could be scary and turn it into a learning opportunity, and she would bet not many kids his age knew anything of the scientific basis to earthquakes. Anyhow, since I wrote her the letter, she isn't questioning it, and she's not saying negative things about it. Maybe the argument that it would give all of us more time with him made a difference! I haven't gotten a response from my dad yet, but as a former public high school teacher (he's retired now) he knows the downfalls of the education system, so I think he'll be okay with it. My sister's only reaction was could she still buy him a couple of "back to (home) school shirts"?

I am waiting now to here anything from Pathways... I want to go to the family meeting with them and ask a lot of questions to see if it will be a good fit for our family. I did write the public school a letter withdrawing C.O., so at least that part's done! I am also waiting to see what, if anything, will happen with work this next week. I can't wait until I am down to part-time, plus M has his interview on Tuesday.

There's always so much going on at once!