My weekly Homeschool Mother's Journal: Last bits of summer

Life this week...

Figuring out April's schooling this year has been quite the roller coaster ride. She started out the summer just wanting to do a few classes at the local high school (theater, and possibly math and science), so we signed her up not even knowing what they'd let her take as a homeschooler. As we looked for classes that she would take on her own, nothing was working out, and the high school never contacted us about the classes she COULD take there.

Time went by, too much time for her to think about it too much and get worried, and she decided she wanted to just go to school full time, but at a different high school. We tried Wilsonville first since her Dad works up there. Found out that they were no longer accepting transfers and that the cutoff date was back in June before school had ended. What?!

Then we find out that she was still enrolled at the charter school from last year, but I had told them through their little form that she wouldn't be coming back. Since she was still enrolled we decided to look into the early college program. She decides she wants to do that since she can't get into a high school with an orchestra, and was really against going to the school in town because they don't have one. She goes in for placement testing, and doesn't test into the level of math she needs to test into. We are both discouraged at this point, and didn't see that coming. We thought she had this early college thing in the bag, but all the time we are doing this I am feeling slightly unsure about the whole thing. It just didn't feel right, you know? Well, she goes back into re-test after a practice test math session with her Dad. During her re-test I was worried she still wouldn't test high enough, and not make it into the program so I had the thought that I should try another school, so I call McNary (in Keizer about 20 min. drive). I call them, and they say she can come on over and register. Little did I know that the gal I talked to was new. She couldn't just register, I had to go submit a form at our school district (which I wish I would have known from the beginning), and then we had to wait to be approved. Meanwhile she scored high enough on the math test to make it into the program, but at this point she was super excited about going to McNary, and really truly doesn't want to do the college program. She really wants to go to high school.

Now school starts in 3 days, and we still haven't heard back from anyone about whether she was approved or not. Meanwhile I am thinking, this is crazy. She needs to be starting if she wants to be in school. I talk to April about it, and explain it would probably be better for her to just start here in Woodburn, and then transfer if she still wants to if it comes through. Because if she waits, and then doesn't get in she will start late, and be behind. So, we are going back in to register her on Tuesday at the local high school. Sigh! What an exhausting summer! I am feeling better about the whole thing too. I wish we had just stuck with her going to Woodburn like she had planned at the beginning of the summer, and not had that whole run around. Then she could really start on time this Wednesday. But, I do think we learned a lot, and I think it needed to happen that way for some odd reason. I think she realized more what she wanted most through the process.

Homeschool this week...

We got 3 days of math done this week. We are really only doing math and review stuff right now until we get the rest of our curriculum. I plan to build up over the next few weeks, adding subjects in as we go along. So, not much more to report here.

Reviews we are working on...

Right now we are working on Let's Go Geography, and Super Teacher worksheets. We also have a new Heirloom Audio to listen to.


Places we're going and people we're seeing..

Our Cub Scout pack had a "recycle" rain gutter regatta. Alex and Aric made boats out of a foam pipe we had from another project. They worked pretty well.

We had fun going on a little hike with some friends from our co-op. They have an exchange student from China, so it was fun to get to know her a little too.

Sword fights with cattails

Our favorite thing this week was...

We went to an open skate session to use up April's last free guest for the month of August. It has been fun to see them get really good on the ice this summer, especially April who is taking lessons. Here are some videos I shot during the open skate.

Something I'm reading...

I have been working on reading this book Holly Lane by J.B. Morgan. It's a sweet little love story, and very clean! I have really been enjoying it. What's even better? The author is a very close friend that lives right here in our town of Woodburn. I have been very excited for her new adventures as an author. If you want a clean romantic story, she's you're author! I've heard that this book is popping into some libraries too.

That's all for this week! How was yours?