January is proving to be a challenge this year.
The news from Tuscon makes my heart sick.
You can read about house progress (or lack-thereof) over at
the Beorningstead but my difficulties go a bit deeper than just the construction project.
Molly is struggling with some very unexpected back to school problems. It's not really anything I want to get into publicly but it has thrown into high relief my fears and frustrations with the drama and social stupidity of public school - even though this particular drama isn't restricted to school nor is school the root cause, it has proven to be a very effective catalyst. Add this to my growing frustration with her academic work and I am very, very tempted to bring her back to Home-school. Her Global Studies book covers all of world history up to the modern era in fewer pages than the
supplementary text we used for the Renaissance in the
second half of 7th grade, is written at a lower level than anything we used after 6th grade (when we weaned ourselves of from public school texts) and is full of HUGE pictures and many bullet points. Honors English is reading
A Tale of Two Cities right now, which is review for Molly and they aren't covering half of the information that we covered in home school. Her teacher didn't know what Cruncher is complaining about when he accuses his wife of "floppin'" against him until Molly explained it in class. (HONORS ENGLISH!! Sigh.) I'm appalled at how sub-standard her education is turning out to be in High School.
She's still in public school this week because: (1) her voice teacher is Awesome and is really stretching Molly's vocal skills. I can't do that at home. (2) She is making friends, slowly, with kids she hasn't been going to Church with all her life. And (3) she's got a great Math teacher this year and is actually doing fairly well with math.
I'm also overwhelmed with paperwork - for the house, for the taxes, for my business. I've spent the last two weeks trying to convince myself to go into the freezing cold closet which used to be a shower, dig out all of the paperwork and start putting all of the pieces together. I really don't want to. But I will have to start Monday. I also have to pull my business into some semblance of order online - actually building a site (or at least a landing and launching pad) on GoblinsMarket.org, sorting out my supplies from my finished work, revamping my shops, etc...
But there are some bright spots. For the next couple of weeks I'm taking a class on Tarot symbolism from my friend,
Rich Tenace, and I'm really enjoying the class. Don't worry, LDS friends, Rich and I are not going all Occult and Satanic on you. The main goal of the class is to explore symbols and learn how meditating on symbols can clue us into things that we already know in within our intuitive selves or sub-conscious mind. It has been useful for me as I try to navigate (and help Molly navigate) the difficult social rapids we have encountered this week as some of the symbols have helped me remember and call upon skills and insights I learned during and as a result of my own difficult teen years.
I'm trying to spend more time and energy creating and doodling as I contemplate where I want my creative path to lead me and how I want that path to merge (or not merge) with my business. I am starting a Doodle of the Week feature - On weeks that I'm not completely overwhelmed, I will be posting a weekly doodle on Fridays (?) Here's the first one.
The days get longer. This is a good thing.
. . . .
2 comments:
I'm so sorry that your daughter is having a difficult time. Is there any way that she can take just the couple of classes that she would benefit from through the high school and be taught at home for the others? My experience with homeschooling involved taking math and orchestra through the local high school and learning at home for the rest. I was involved in a couple of plays after school in order to have the opportunity to make more friends. It made the timing for transportation a bit tricky sometimes but I did become very good friends with the school librarian as I stayed in the library to read or study during the intervening class periods. I also have friends who participated in sports through the local public school while being home schooled for the academic subjects. Whatever you end up deciding, I hope that you find an acceptable solution.
Thanks, K! Sadly, our local school district, while not unfriendly to home schoolers, does not choose to cooperate with them in things like allowing them to participate in sports, drama or other extra-curricular activities within the district or by allowing them to take some courses through the school and some at home. It's all or nothing. Some districts are more accommodating but NYS law doesn't guarantee those choices. Sigh...
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