things i didn't know about school...and was too afraid to find out #3

School makes weekends wonderful again.


No doubt it isn't solely home schooling's fault but over the last few years weekends at our house had lost their gloss.

When we first started homeschooling using a fun, hands-on, discover-based learning program (Konos) our days were full of wonder and enjoyment. It look a fair bit of time and effort to plan and prepare for our school week but we all got so much out of it I didn't mind a bit.

But as our age range expanded it became harder to keep everyone engaged at a level that was interesting and challenging to them. We started looking at programs for different ages. 'School at home' was sneaking up on me and I didn't even spot it.

And then.....we were sucked into the Classical Homeschooling Vortex. I'm sure this is a neat fit for some families but it was not a happy place for us. It took me a couple of years to realise that the joy had been sucked out of our lives and that my enthusiasm gland was failing to produce enough juice to keep us all charged up.

Because I found it difficult to ask my kids to settle for a less-than-perfect education (sigh) I always tend to be fiddling with each program until I get it where I could love it. The workload of tweaking, planning, preparing and teaching was crippling. Finally I realised I was going down for the third time and didn't have the strength even to clutch for a rope.

I was so busy for way too many hours each day in home school related work so I had no time to keep my house the way I like it. Saturday was my only chance to try and get back on top before I was back on the treadmill again (Sunday of course being written off with church and subsequent activities which I found exhausting and a bit of a trial). The kids and I would do chores for hours but still found it difficult to keep our heads above water. I saw myself becoming one of those home school mums who cheerfuly sweep aside a pile of home school crud, hairbrushes and bread crusts so they can offer their visitors a place to lay their coffee mug. Only, I wasn't pulling off the cheerful part.

I found I looked forward to school holidays not because I could spend some free time with my kids but so I could finally get into the linen closet and sort out the mess. At the end of each holiday I'd still have a list of a dozen undone jobs that I knew would have to wait until the end of next term when we had 'holidays' again. It was depressing.

So now, I get almost all the housework done in an hour each day and can spend evenings, weekends and school holidays enjoying my kids. They love it too. Sometimes we chill, other times we hit the beach. go shopping or hang with friends...it's just so nice not to be worrying about the six hours of planning (I kid you not) I'd have to put in on Sunday night if I didn't want to start the home school week on the hop.

Several of my kids would still like to return to home schooling...and I wouldn't say I've shut that door totally. But if we tackle it again, we'll do it in some way that frees us up to enjoy life and each other again. I won't be giving that up for anything.

things i didn't know about school...and was too afraid to find out #1

School pays good money to teachers and administrative staff to do the job of providing excellent learning opportunities for the children...without Mother lifting a finger


My kids were homeschooled right up until January this year. The oldest has never been to a real school. With our lives increasingly complicated with the marriage breakdown and several months with two kids in different hospitals, it became clear that homeschooling was no longer feasible. But I still dithered around making the decision to quit. I think I needed time to grieve the ending of what had been - at its best - a very precious era.

After a small stumble when we trialled 6 months in a private Christian school, my 5 youngest kids are now enjoying mainstream public education. I just dropped the 3 youngest off at their lovely public primary school which is less than 2 minutes drive away. I guess the feeling will fade with time but so far, there hasn't been a single day when that hasn't felt just great.

One small drawback is that poor 12 yo ds is visiting the Medieval era for the fourth time this term. Still he's better off than his highschool-aged brother who drew the short straw with a repeat of sex-ed due to the school change. He tells me he's going to be an *expert* :)

As I was leaving the school this morning I noticed the Living History bus was parked in the grounds. A bunch of us employed these guys to do their fabulous interactive history show when we were learning about Colonial times. They do a terrific job making history come alive for the kids. I stopped to chat with the actors and wished them a great day.

It started me thinking about one of the things I love about school: As homeschoolers, to pull something like that off I would have had to discover Living History existed, call them and get a quote and ask around to see if any other families would be interested in sharing the cost. We'd need to plan a date when we would all be free. Then I'd post the event on-line, gather further expressions of interest but not count heads until I had all their money in. The last few days before I'd field calls asking for refunds due to sick kids...and made a lot of enemies. On the day I'd be ill with worry knowing probably at least 20% still wouldn't show but that that family who dress like they just crawled out of an dumpster would be there and, as always, bring their embarrassing behaviour issues with them. During the presentation several of the mothers would stand around at the back and rudely chat. I would be embarrassed and annoyed but feel unable to address it. I'd end the day exhausted but still have to face the long drive home, baths, dinner prep and clean up before I could collapse.

So....everytime the kids come home from school and say, 'Guess what we did today?!' I do a little kitchen conga and send grateful vibe to the kind and competent men and women at the two wonderful public schools my kids attend who devote their lives to taking care of stuff like that for me.