Back to (un)School

Well, September is here, George is done with summer camps, and we're back to homeschooling--not that one ever really leaves it. But back to it in a more deliberate way.

As I look to the school year ahead, I feel excited, hopeful, and relieved. Excited because this is our first year where we're starting out from the beginning with the plan of full-time homeschooling, and I kind of almost know what I'm doing now, so it's easier to feel excited rather than terrified by the possibilities. Hopeful that this will be his least traumatic school year in quite some time! There's not much competition in that category, unfortunately. It's really been one trauma and/or massive upheaval after another in recent years. This is where my relief comes in: this is the first year (out of the last three) where I will be focusing all of my efforts on educating him, rather than on working with some teacher who doesn't get him and doesn't like him, or on pouring my energy into starting a school. We began full-time homeschooling at the end of last winter, but I was already exhausted at that point from working on the Montessori school, and was also trying to regain my composure/balance/sanity after realizing that yet another difficult road had led us nowhere. It feels good to be getting a fresh start this year, and to know that the outcome of my efforts is ultimately not dependent upon anyone else but George and me.

I guess I also have just the slightest twinge of regret--that my mammoth efforts to start a school over the last two years were all for naught. Not entirely true--I think that the Montessori school may be up and running as a preschool still. But I didn't set out to start a preschool; what this community desperately needs and what I wanted to help create is an alternative school (Montessori or otherwise) from the elementary level on up. As intensely (insanely?!) as I worked over the last two years to start one, I suppose I mostly did it for George, but I also derived a sense of satisfaction from the idea of building something that would benefit the entire community. Oh well; it didn't work out that way. Moving on... and feeling mostly quite good about it.

We're easing into a routine with the homeschooling. I'm going to stick with my plan of being rather unschooly, at least to begin with. While we will be starting various types of lessons and local homeschooling classes later this month, and will develop an informal "curriculum" in other subjects, for now we're focusing just on math, which is the subject we'll be covering in the most formal way. He has started back up this week with his online CTY/EPGY class, and has so far been doing a great job with it, despite the fact that it is not his absolute favorite.

Funny--even as I write this, I'm beginning to feel a bit intimidated by the thought of an entire school year stretching out in front of us, by the thought of juggling full-time homeschooling and a full-time career. Not to mention a busy household and a rock band. Eeeeek! But no, I can do this! I really can! At least, I sure hope so. Wish me luck.