Education
As I posted a couple of months ago, I had some reservations about sending my oldest (five year old) daughter to school, but since she was very into the idea, and since the school was an arts school, and since it had an excellent academic rating, and since I value autonomy and her ability to steer her own direction through life, and since I had said that I would honor requests from my children to send them to school if that is what they thought they would prefer, I was ready, willing, and even (eventually) somewhat excited to do it. There were even perks to the plan and I did like how many art, music, dance, and drama lessons and experiences she would automatically receive as part of this curriculum.
At the same time, having visited the school, I found the general pedagogy to be very different than what I consider optimal, though I grasp their reasoning for having it that way. Still, it was more authoritarian than I prefer, and I was concerned that her enthusiasm for learning would very quickly be suppressed in order to achieve a level of homogeneity and conformity in the classroom. And I get that - I cannot imagine dealing with 18 - 24 five year olds, many of whom do not have the social and communication skills that my own child has. However, I understand what this sort of environment can do to very bright children (or any child) and had serious reservations about sending her there, which is why my initial plan (after researching this for about two years) was to homeschool, with the exception being that if she herself wanted to go to school. I was okay with sending her, but that was also partially because I was also willing to take her out at any time - she didn't have to stay if it wasn't all she had hoped it would be.
But then as the time drew closer and closer and the serious life-altering changes this would mean began to sink in, she reconsidered. Seriously reconsidered. This would mean an earlier bedtime than the rest of the family, no more staying part of the week at the farm, no more "mommy days" in the middle of the week, no more trips to spend one-on-one Grandma Martha time, no more homeschool group, no more classes at Highfield Discovery Garden, etc., etc. We had, of course, explained all of this to her a while back, but the closer it loomed the more real it became. We told her way back then that if she decided she didn't want to go to school right now (she can always go later) that we had other options.
So of course, here it is, a week before school starts, and I have been frantically exploring those "other options" at the last minute, because she has decided that she isn't ready to be away from her family that much, and I totally understand that. Full-day kindergarten is the option here, unless we can come up with a whole lot of money to pay for something else, and even if we could (or could find something inexpensive that is up to our standards) she is strongly preferring to "do school on the computer."
To be clear, the curriculum isn't all on the computer, either. Though you log in to get assignments, track attendance, and turn in some homework, most of the education occurs off-line, either reading books, doing traditional workbook pages, hands-on experiments (for science), art projects, etc. She will actually get a wider range of subjects doing it this way, since in the physical school the teacher was very clear that only reading and math were taught every day, though she tried to work science and history into the lessons a couple of times a week. On-line, since the teacher is not working alone to educate a whole room full of kids, there are more opportunities for other subjects, and even though Ohio doesn't require (and thus doesn't financially subsidize) art and science, we can choose to add those subjects on to her curriculum for a nominal fee, which we are definitely opting to do.
I think this is a really neat option. In Ohio, you can enroll in "public school" online, which means you get all of the materials, lessons, access to a teacher, etc., for free - they'll even give you the computer and printer and partially pay for your internet access. This is a wonderful option for people who travel a lot, or have physical issues that make being in school difficult, or who have learning disabilities, or who are gifted - basically anyone who is not going to benefit from moving at the "average pace" of everyone else and/or who has (or prefers) a non-traditional school schedule, which would definitely be us. :<)
The great thing about this (to me) is that she can work at her own pace - my biggest fear about being in a "regular" school was that she would be held back by the pace of the rest of the class. Both my husband and I struggled with this as students when we were young, and given her academic interest and abilities, I fear that she would end up in the same very bored boat. There were times when I could work at my own pace (and get out of my way when that was possible!) but those times were few and far between. I so wanted an option when I was younger where I could just go, go, GO! as fast as I wanted, and with this program, she can do that. I am perfectly happy to send her to college as young as she is ready to go (I know how since I started when I was fifteen) and to let her excel at whatever rate suits her.
To me, this combines the best of regular school and homeschooling, and she is so excited about the idea. We can enroll her in music, art, and dance classes outside of school (she has already taken gymnastics, yoga, art, swimming, ballet, tap, and soccer anyway) and we will also start a foreign language program this fall as well. (The public online school doesn't offer it as an option until third grade, and she wants to learn Spanish now, and Chinese as soon as possible.) We can continue to participate in the homeschool group for ongoing social opportunities with a group of other children, and I will consciously look for regular opportunities for her to have social interactions, which we already do anyway. Her social skills are beyond her chronological years at this point, and despite the common fear, homeschooled kids (statistically speaking) have higher than average skills in this area, as well as in academics. Who knows - maybe at some point she will want to go to school in an actual building, but for now, we are all pretty excited about this option.
And in just a few weeks, the real fun begins…..
At the same time, having visited the school, I found the general pedagogy to be very different than what I consider optimal, though I grasp their reasoning for having it that way. Still, it was more authoritarian than I prefer, and I was concerned that her enthusiasm for learning would very quickly be suppressed in order to achieve a level of homogeneity and conformity in the classroom. And I get that - I cannot imagine dealing with 18 - 24 five year olds, many of whom do not have the social and communication skills that my own child has. However, I understand what this sort of environment can do to very bright children (or any child) and had serious reservations about sending her there, which is why my initial plan (after researching this for about two years) was to homeschool, with the exception being that if she herself wanted to go to school. I was okay with sending her, but that was also partially because I was also willing to take her out at any time - she didn't have to stay if it wasn't all she had hoped it would be.
But then as the time drew closer and closer and the serious life-altering changes this would mean began to sink in, she reconsidered. Seriously reconsidered. This would mean an earlier bedtime than the rest of the family, no more staying part of the week at the farm, no more "mommy days" in the middle of the week, no more trips to spend one-on-one Grandma Martha time, no more homeschool group, no more classes at Highfield Discovery Garden, etc., etc. We had, of course, explained all of this to her a while back, but the closer it loomed the more real it became. We told her way back then that if she decided she didn't want to go to school right now (she can always go later) that we had other options.
So of course, here it is, a week before school starts, and I have been frantically exploring those "other options" at the last minute, because she has decided that she isn't ready to be away from her family that much, and I totally understand that. Full-day kindergarten is the option here, unless we can come up with a whole lot of money to pay for something else, and even if we could (or could find something inexpensive that is up to our standards) she is strongly preferring to "do school on the computer."
To be clear, the curriculum isn't all on the computer, either. Though you log in to get assignments, track attendance, and turn in some homework, most of the education occurs off-line, either reading books, doing traditional workbook pages, hands-on experiments (for science), art projects, etc. She will actually get a wider range of subjects doing it this way, since in the physical school the teacher was very clear that only reading and math were taught every day, though she tried to work science and history into the lessons a couple of times a week. On-line, since the teacher is not working alone to educate a whole room full of kids, there are more opportunities for other subjects, and even though Ohio doesn't require (and thus doesn't financially subsidize) art and science, we can choose to add those subjects on to her curriculum for a nominal fee, which we are definitely opting to do.
I think this is a really neat option. In Ohio, you can enroll in "public school" online, which means you get all of the materials, lessons, access to a teacher, etc., for free - they'll even give you the computer and printer and partially pay for your internet access. This is a wonderful option for people who travel a lot, or have physical issues that make being in school difficult, or who have learning disabilities, or who are gifted - basically anyone who is not going to benefit from moving at the "average pace" of everyone else and/or who has (or prefers) a non-traditional school schedule, which would definitely be us. :<)
The great thing about this (to me) is that she can work at her own pace - my biggest fear about being in a "regular" school was that she would be held back by the pace of the rest of the class. Both my husband and I struggled with this as students when we were young, and given her academic interest and abilities, I fear that she would end up in the same very bored boat. There were times when I could work at my own pace (and get out of my way when that was possible!) but those times were few and far between. I so wanted an option when I was younger where I could just go, go, GO! as fast as I wanted, and with this program, she can do that. I am perfectly happy to send her to college as young as she is ready to go (I know how since I started when I was fifteen) and to let her excel at whatever rate suits her.
To me, this combines the best of regular school and homeschooling, and she is so excited about the idea. We can enroll her in music, art, and dance classes outside of school (she has already taken gymnastics, yoga, art, swimming, ballet, tap, and soccer anyway) and we will also start a foreign language program this fall as well. (The public online school doesn't offer it as an option until third grade, and she wants to learn Spanish now, and Chinese as soon as possible.) We can continue to participate in the homeschool group for ongoing social opportunities with a group of other children, and I will consciously look for regular opportunities for her to have social interactions, which we already do anyway. Her social skills are beyond her chronological years at this point, and despite the common fear, homeschooled kids (statistically speaking) have higher than average skills in this area, as well as in academics. Who knows - maybe at some point she will want to go to school in an actual building, but for now, we are all pretty excited about this option.
And in just a few weeks, the real fun begins…..