Homeschooling Because We Have To

This post originally appeared on www.katiespencerwhite.com in summer 2011.

William will be 11 in August and as such he should be starting high school in September.  He has a place at one of the top two high schools (by exam results, not pupil happiness) in the county.  Lee and I should be over the moon.  William should be gagging with nervous excitement.  All William has to do is turn up everyday for the next five years, pass his exams, get into college, pass more exams, get into the right university and away he goes.

Image courtesy of smittenbybritain.com

Somehow I don't think it's going to work out like this. 

Unschooling: Adventures in Letting Go

This post originally appeared on www.katiespencerwhite.com in Autumn 2011.

A lot of folks have been asking me how the homeschooling is going.  I'll be honest - it is a lot harder than it looks, especially when one is working with a young person who has specific needs.  It's not that it is particularly difficult.  It's just that it isn't taking place quite how I imagined.  Somehow, I thought our kitchen table would come to look like a classroom, covered in textbooks, atlases, laptops, graphs, bits of science equipment, pencils, and all the rest of the usual detritus that makes one feel like one is engaged in "official" learning.  But it isn't like that at all. 

Be Like Water

I was stood up last Thursday.....by a social worker.

Shocking, I know.  Shocking first because I thought social workers were über prepared and prompt people.  

Shocking second because why the hell does a social worker have to get involved in my family!!?

It all started the week before last.  Nyree and Lee had left for the morning 30 minutes earlier and at 9 a.m., Jonah was just finishing off his cereal and bananas.  A red car pulled up outside my house.  I didn't think anything of it at first but then this stout little woman came up my drive and started to open my front gate.  I thought she was the Avon lady or something but didn't have much time to dwell on it because my dogs were going ballistic (German shepherds and border collies can bark in stereo, trust me). 

How Nyree Started Homeschool

Today was Nyree's last day of school.  Ever.

Ok, perhaps not ever (I'm open to her returning at some point is she wants to) but from this afternoon, she officially entered homeschool.

Here's the catch: there are still two weeks left of school.

My and My Baby Girl

I've debated for a month about weather to allow her to finish a few weeks early.  She started at her new school in May and at first things seemed to be going well.  She enjoyed walking to school and seeing her "home" friends at school, and as an added bonus, her new class went to swimming lessons each week.

But as the weeks have gone on, the initial thrill has worn off.  Nyree has become more and more reluctant to to go to school and increasingly unhappy with life in general.  She didn't want to go to school for fun days like Sports Day and she started having trouble sleeping.   Since her brother is homeschooled, she began to ask me is she could be, too.

Lee and I wanted her to finish the year.  We are happy for her to homeschool from September but thought it important that she finish what she starts.

And then something unusual happened.

On Monday our car keys disappeared. 

Are You Mom Enough to Homeschool?

This post originally appeared on my blog katiespencerwhite.com

Did you happen to catch that Time Magazine cover from the other week - you know, the one with the willowy blonde with her four-year old attached to her breast?

Yep, this one.

Now, I don't know about you, but I could care less how long this woman nurses her child.  It's the title that got my attention.

"Are you mom enough?"

For what? Breastfeeding?  Feeding an infant/toddler lasts for a couple of years at best and while breastfeeding advocates list a whole raft of benefits, the truth is (and any parent who has gotten out of the early years will confirm this) feeding a baby, while important, is not going to impact the entire rest of their life.

Where your child is educated does. Get a good school where your child is happy and life is golden.  Get a not-so-good school (or, God forbid, a really crap one) and you may as well write your kid off.  Teach 'em how to flip burgers 'cause that's where they'll end up whether they were breastfed or not.

Okay, maybe there is a small chance of getting past and moving on from a bad educational experience, but you get my point.  Education matters.