As I sit here close to him, watching (and listening to) him enjoy his first day back, I am reminded over and over of why I am glad I am homeschooling him. I forgot how he likes to stand while he does his work. He did this in kindergarten also, but I thought it was so he could more easily and quickly throw himself across the floor in an immature fit of attention-grabbing. But then last year in homeschool, I had a hard time getting him to remain seated. Eventually, when he never collapsed in random heaps, I just let him stand.
Another good reason (if it's not the best reason ever!) is the spontaneous field trips we can take. Today is the first day back to school, and his first field trip is tomorrow! His aunt is taking him to the zoo. And when he gets back, he'll have a nice page to fill out about the experience, because that's just how I roll.
I am not only glad I'm homeschooling, but I'm also so glad I can use the curriculum I use. I have not met another mom who uses the same curriculum that I do, and I've not met anyone else who even likes the curriculum I use. For me, ACE is the best. I used A Beka in kindergarten and we did not like it one bit. Too many flashcards and posters and not enough worksheets. Too much lecture time and not enough work time. I do not have an entire room to dedicate to a school room. All I need (and all I have room for) is one set of drawers, one drawer for each subject. No extra bags or boxes of hands-on equipment, which could be really cool, and we do have some hands-on learning stuff, but it's not required for school and he can play with it whenever he wants (and as we come across stuff at thrift stores we can buy it cheap). This is the drawer set that sits next to his desk.
I got a $1 lesson plan book from Target where we can write his daily goals in (instead of a goal card). I also bought a $1 grade book, and while I'll still print out a homemade star chart for the cork board, the grade book (which can hold all his grades from last year to graduation!) will be much handier when I need to show a cover school his grades next year.
Speaking of which, I'm glad I still don't need a cover school. The law says you only need one when your kid turns 7, and my six year old should finish second grade before he turns 7. I've looked into cover schools a little bit, and there are so many, with such a range of interference. I am not looking for a club, where we can go and meet more people and generally hang out. I do not want anyone demanding lesson plans of any detail level. I do want my kid to be able to do things that I alone can't give him, like one cover school said they have an engine their kids can come and rebuild. One school offers soccer and baseball, while another one has an academic contest similar to competition and nationals that Christian schools have. Some cover schools cost upwards of $400, while there is one that only requires a $25 application fee. Did I mention how glad I am that I don't have to decide anything this year?!
Here's the new second grader, fully enjoying his first day back:
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P.S. My friend who also homeschools told me two weeks after I wrote this post that she was told in her first cover school meeting that the law was changed this summer and I need to get a cover school for this year. I went online and found the cheapest one that I didn't have to write any lesson plans or anything for. All I have to do is keep track of which days we do school! So easy. I don't know why I was so reticent before.