and we're finished

(singing "Y-M-C-A" at field day)

Whoa.  That was a crazy finish.  Field Days, field trips, BBQs, assemblies, graduations, teacher gifts, early birthday celebrations with classmates...I'm coasting into summer vacation on fumes.

I'm really ready to have the girls home.

Our year at public school has not been horrible.  The girls have made some lovely friends and we had wonderful teachers.  My complaints about this past year lie mostly with the issue of time.  Time lost. Time ill spent. The girls are gone each school day for 7-8 hours.  That is a very long day to be away from home- to be away from family. How have we benefited from all of that disconnect? We haven't. How have our lives become richer with all of that time spent away? I'm not seeing it. I'm being really transparent here and I hope you can appreciate this as my opinion and the unique inner-workings of our family. It may be different for your own. 

I love the idea of open-ended and uninterrupted time for real intimacy with subject matter. I read this (left sidebar under "my story") several months ago and have been dreaming about it since. The kids in public school have an incredible amount of transitions to deal with in their day.  Distractions abound.  I'm not sure how they really have time to delve fully into anything with all of the things on their schedules. Activities like reading buddies, computer labs, PE/music/library, recess, lunch, workshops, stations, and enrichment, are wonderful- but when grouped together throughout the day, it just seems like a lot of "coming and going". They barely have enough time to fit in the 3 Rs not to mention the total lack of art, minuscule history, and the sporadic science units. I really don't fault the teachers.  I think for the most part, they do a phenomenal job with what they have been given.  I'm not sure how successful I would be if I were given 28 remarkably different brains to feed every day. I am also finding that more and more schools are taking on many of the responsibilities that belong to families. I think that what they are doing is noble, but I'm not sure that they can provide everything children need AND provide it well. It would be a different world if all students came to school well rested, well fed, well loved, and ready to learn. I grieve for the children who lack these basic needs. Wouldn't it be great if the focus in the classroom could simply be learning?

It has been especially difficult for Hannah to make the transition from school (somewhat chaotic) to being in a more relaxed home environment.  She struggles to fully integrate into either environment. She has complained of feeling overcrowded, overwhelmed, and overstimulated at school, and "bored" at home. I know there has to a be better balance for her. I'm hoping to foster that at home.

Emma needs freedom to work at her own pace.  She excels in math.  Her teacher admitted that she deserved to be able to work ahead as she chose and that the pace of math lessons suited to meet the needs of the rest of her class was definitely holding her back. There are other areas where she likes to linger longer, to go slower.  I want that for her.  I want to find and protect that broad open space of time for digging deeper or moving faster.

I've said it before and it has been confirmed again this year.  When they go away each day, someone else gets the better part of their day.  They come home tired (I don't blame them!), frazzled and hungry. It's fairly impossible to develop rich relationships with anyone when you are in that state.  I just can't seem to squeeze in all the "mothering" into 3.5 hours in the evenings. It is not enough time.

I came across this passage the other day and it seemed to fit what I've been sensing.

"Overcrowding children's schedules deprives them of time to make their own choices for play, being alone quietly or mixing with friends, helping with chores, reading books they enjoy, or pursuing hobbies. This is a serious life-long loss.  Without such times, their inner lives are stunted; they don't develop from the inside first.  If a school's first object is to produce a star pupil, this idea should be seriously challenged! Wisdom would know that over-filling the daytime hours with prescribed work quenches the bright spark of enthusiasm.  It is as if each child is a little plant, and the sunshine, air, and rain have been kept away.  The plant dies or becomes limp and languid.  Then adults complain that there is a "lack of motivation" or "poor concentration" or that the child "does not try hard enough". If we want our children to stay hungry for knowledge, remain interested and questioning, enjoy the wonder of discovery, then we must leave them some clutter-free hours for friendship, the great out-of-doors, the rich world of imagination, and the satisfaction of the skilled use of art supplies, music, dance, wood and clay."  Cooper, When Children Love to Learn, p 38.

Sounds lovely doesn't it? I want this for us and am really excited to find it next year. 

I'm still in the thick of planning.  I'll post thoughts on curriculum choices as I go.