Long Time, no...

Yeah. It's been a while since I've been on here. Haven't felt the urge to write about it, honestly. I felt like the struggle didn't need to be captured on page... But, apparently this whole "homeschooling" thing is not a phase. We are going on, full tilt, into high school with one, and starting kinder with another. And while I continue to make myself crazy on a near daily basis, finding the next big thing in curriculum that is "way better" than the curriculum I already have, finding new ways to teach something, finding new things to regret how we've already done it, we trudge along, trying to fit it all in without screwing my kids up. I feel like I've got a better handle on what kind of people my kids are, how they learn, and what they need to retain the information. At the same time, I've found out more about who I am and what I'm ok with as far as teaching methods are concerned. Currently, my soon-to-be high schooler is doing pretty phenomenally in everything she does. She's a bit slow, and lazy, and you have to poke and prod her to get her shit done, but her writing has really excelled immensely. I fully feel she is ready for high school this fall. I don't know that I will be ready for high school this fall, though. Still working on that one. The next one; well, he's an enigma wrapped in a mystery. He's just over a year younger than the soon-to-be highschooler (sorry, I've forgotten their nick names. I'll have to figure them out or come up with new ones). I guess he's "normal" for a 12 year old boy? I have no idea. His writing leaves a lot to be desired, and honestly, I cannot fathom that he will be ready for high school after one more year. We may have to add a "filler year" in there, given his birthday does fall near the cut off anyway, and I don't want to push him into anything before he's ready. We've tried that in the past and it doesn't work; he completley shuts down. That's my main problem with him; he won't ask for help. If he doesn't get it, he flat will not do it. Now, little Miss, she's rearing to go, full steam ahead, ready to read and write on her own so badly, she can almost taste it. I'm still collecting stuff for her, but I figure we'll do schooling based on her birthday, so starting at the beginning of the year instead of fall. I'm sure things will even out at some point in the next 12 years. So, that's it for now. I'm hoping I'll be more apt to updating this, especially when I'm making myself crazy for curriculum choices, and I pick something only to realize I had previously looked at it and discarded it for one reason or another.