(no subject)

[altarflame]

Me, my 5 kids, Laura, and her 2 kids are gathered around the dining table starting to eat.

Me: Ok, let's pray everybody.
*general cacophany as they all try to cram two bites in their mouths and get a sip of tea before we start...then, quiet.*
Me: God, thank you so much for all this yummy food -
Brian: Yeah!
Me: And for this great day -
Brian: Yay!
Me: And help us to remember you in everything we do and to have a good night. Amen.
Brian: *clapping wildly* WOOHOO!
Laura: He's Baptist.

---

I'm contemplating sending Isaac and Jake to first and K at the fine arts charter school that is like, 3 blocks from my house and attached to City Church, where we sometimes attend services.

Pros:
-They REALLY WANT TO GO. BAD.
-That is super close, and already familiar
-the school is small, and well rated (and I know some of the super nice staff)
-Jake and Isaac are both really academic and social, they don't have any of the issues Ananda and Aaron do (dyslexia, selective mutism, SID)
-it would be kind of a relief in some ways

Cons:
-It would be a little overwhelming to deal with the scheduling aspect of structured school - we've never dealt with having to get up early every morning or having to do things at peak times when everything is crowded, and there will surely be times when specifically homeschool activities that are still important to A and A interfere with pick-up times...especially with Grant on this late schedule it seems challenging. This might seem menial if you're used to school, but we're used to road trips and have a whole family slumber party tomorrow night and left my mother in law's at 2 am last night. It would be a massive adjustment.
-We are beyond broke right now, with all these medical things following NY, so the uniforms and supplies could be truly prohibitive, whereas I have everything I need here already for homeschooling them
-uniforms, what? Come on. So weird.
-Just weird in general to send a couple of them to school when we're so entrenched, as a family, in homeschool
-this might not even be an option, for all I know they have an insane waiting list

---

There's a meteor shower tonight at around 11:30...for South Florida anyway...and I'm thinking of driving out to the Everglades with the kids to check it out.

The AM will be all Usborne, all the time. I'm heading out alone to talk to various people and then coming home and making a million calls.

In between, school, and maybe scones and tea outside with books.

Comments

Re: you're not bitchy

[altarflame.livejournal.com]

Theirs definitely count to some degree, which is why I'm talking about this...but I don't think that kids their age have the ability to make ultimate decisions about what's best for them, either. I guess what I'm saying is it's a parent's job to consider what their kids want, and the parent's job to decide whether or not it's a good idea. You know?

Anyway, WORST that could happen? Hmm...

Isaac's typical low threshold for everything and exaggerrated wimpiness get him picked on terribly or beaten up, Jake's temper and obstinance get me called in to talk to some other person about disciplining my kid, we miss out on all kinds of things we want to do, from spontaneous to activities to trips we would plan, because they conflict with school times, the kids (literally) never see Grant at all through the week anymore, we decide to do it but actually cannot swing the supplies and uniforms (I don't even want to think about going in there begging people I don't know for hand me downs, dude, honestly. I mean if I had an established social network where everyone passed them on that would be totally different - either way I don't think you can count on it).

If Grant were on days I think I would say we should give them a year. As I said somewhere in here, I somehow totally wasn't thinking about that part of it.

Re: you're not bitchy

[noelove.livejournal.com]

I read your other comment about Grant's schedule. That's too bad. I really thought it would have been an interesting experience for Jake and Isaac.

And I have to say about your generalization, yah, kids in normal public schools pretty much suck. I think you'd really like Aiden's school, since its not as structured as normal public schools. They don't get 'graded', they get evaluated at semesters end and they have to be there for that evaluation as well. The parents are all super involved and the teachers all kick ass.

Anyway, good dialog and what a neat thing to think about. Maybe in a couple years you might be able to revisit something like this! :)

you know, when the kids are ready for the real world. haahah!

Re: you're not bitchy

[altarflame.livejournal.com]

He was talking last night about how, with the schedule as it is, it would be really hard for me to ever get any sleep... and although I don't generally consider that, usually I only get the kind of sleep deprivation it would entail like, for a weeklong thing. It would be kind of nuts for a whole school year. Like Isaac being a baby again ;)

I'm relieved that you said that about the generalizing, I really didn't want you to feel like I was judging YOU GUYS. I think it's awesome how you've went about picking their school and are so involved, and totally see the difference in being a single parent, and so on. It does sound like a great school.

Dude you would not believe how prevalent that "real world" shit is on the internet. And I am SO SURROUNDED IRL by people who are just NOT on a "normal" schedule (aunt is a bartender, mom does graveyard shifts, Pa is retired, I know so many midwives and doulas that are 24/7...this is in addition to the examples I threw out up there) that it just blows my mind that people really even have the experiences that lead them to thinking that. My good friend Kristin is a single mom of two and she supports herself as part of the crew for hot air balloon races and by doing henna at big parties, and she shares a house with a nurse midwife who does the night shift at a local hospital.

Re: you're not bitchy

[noelove.livejournal.com]

I think that people judge because they are unhappy with their own mundane existence. They are ruled by the man and are probably upset about that. THEY have to be a 'normal' schedule and quiet possibly are jealous that you make your own and make it work.

I was talking to a guy friend of mine who sends his children to a typical school and thinks that Aiden's school is weird. He doesn't participate in anything at the school and doesn't get why I do. He kept challanging me about the no grades thing, and how it wasn't going to look good on college transcripts and such. I kept telling him my goal for my children is to live full lives, love themselves and develop deep and meaningful relationships. I think that is the most important thing in life.

Not making 6 figures and being unhappy. He just couldn't seem to grasp that. But then again, he's a typical guy.

My mom worked graveyard my whole life, it wasn't until Aiden was like.....4? That she got a 'normal' 9-5ish hours at the Post Office.

Everyone is different. I wish more people would just be tolerant that the real world we live in co-exists with the real world they live in.