A New Year

Yesterday was the first official school day of the New Year, and it was quite productive overall. First of all, we went to church. We learned about the woman (Seton) who began the Catholic Church movement for the immigrants. Then, Connor's new math/biology tutor was here from 9-10a, and I went to the gym. It's wonderful to go work-out without guilt. Previously, all Connor's tutors came on Thursdays when I had to work. On my days off, when I wanted to go to the gym, I would give Connor independent work to do while I was gone. It wasn't a problem, and Connor did a wonderful job completing his work in my absence, but I always felt guilty leaving him. Independent learning is a cornerstone to home-schooling; however, I never felt comfortable being gone for 60 min. in the morning. Now that Connor's computer programming class is over and I'm not working, the tutors can come first thing in the morning. I can go to the gym without guilt, knowing that Connor has a teacher at his disposal. Connor still needs to do independent work when I shower and such, and he uses that time to practice his guitar. Yes, timing is everything. We work hard to NOT waste time. It's easy when you're home-schooling to fall into the sleep-in and relax in my PJs mode. Some home-schoolers cite this is a the best and most important part of home-schooling--the slower pace. For us, it's just the opposite. We feel that we can use every single minute. Schools waste hours of the day just lining kids up in a row for lunch, or having a drinking fountain break. At home, Connor reads while he eats. Of course, Connor thinks of reading as his "treat," not as school. I think that like everything else, home-schoolers need to define their own style. We pack more in a day than most schools pack in a week, but we like it that way. Otherwise, we're bored. So, to us, home-schooling is the opportunity to learn every minute, with no time wasted on busy work or changing classes in the hall.