Kindergarten Conundrum

Amelia is attending public school kindergarten this year. Yes, it's true. If five years ago you had told me that I would send my little girl to a public school I would have gotten offended and we might not have been friends afterward. Before I even had children- or was even married, I have wanted to home school my children. There is a "home school" label for my posts on this blog for crying out loud. I did however say and plan to involve the Lord in my children's education plan. I knew that it would be a matter of prayer and that if for some crazy reason my child/ren were to attend school, and I would do whatever I was lead by the spirit to do. I was home schooled from grades 3rd-9th and I loved it, because of several personal challenges school was intellectually and emotionally challenging. I was dealing with some massive PTSD and a learning disability and I feel that I would not have made it though those years of my life had my mother not decided to home school me.

For months before school started this year I prayed and fasted about what rout would be best for Amelia's education. Then I prayed some more to know what to do. I was feeling at this point that I could make the decision myself, that I could choose. I felt I would have the blessing of the Lord no matter what and so I moved forward with my desire to home school.  I felt that having a set curriculum would be the best option. I started looking into set curriculum. I really liked Abeka and decided that we would go with that for this first year of home schooling. A friend of mine uses the curriculum and let me look it over to determine the best grade of books to order. After making this decision and having a plan to work with I felt uneasy. So uneasy that I applied to have Amelia attend two of the local charter schools. When I got the letter saying she didn't make it in via the lottery and that she would be on the waiting list (numbers 17 and 137 respectively), I was a bit disappointed since at that point I was feeling like school might be the place she needed to be.

There was more praying, lots of  tears, talking with other moms-specifically my sisters. I voiced my worries and concerns about public school. I was reassured that most of my worries were normal mom worries. We talked about the girl Amelia is and how much she needs to stay engaged. We talked about the things she would learn with what I am hoping- will be more easily and more efficiently than if she were at home. She would make friends. Hopefully the experience would be fun for her as well. If it didn't go over well or if I wanted to pull her from public school, I would always have that option. I knew that if she attended public school, she would not be gleaning much, if anything academically.

In the state we live in to be tested into a grade level above what they should be enrolled because of their age(for Amelia to go into 1st instead of kindergarten), she have to test two complete grade levels above, as though she had just completed 2nd grade (our tax dollars at work my friends). Amelia is reading well into the 2nd/3rd grade levels, her penmanship is not perfect but she definitely knows how to write her letters and numbers, count to one hundred, do simple addition and subtraction, etc. So still the feeling that she needed to attend school, knowing she knows almost everything kindergarten has to offer academically. It would have been much more difficult to do if I didn't know it was the right thing.

Amelia needs structure and to know that other kids have the same expectations as she does. among other things she needs to learn to wait her turn (something she has always struggled with) and to have a positive attitude when she does have to wait. Come on people- she's five years old after all- its only natural. Something Tim and I have both been seen with other home schooled children and peers, is that if it doesn't come from mom or dad, it's not really valid.  That this is something specific they struggle with- having someone in an authoritative position that is not mom or dad. (Note: I understand that attachment with mom and dad is the most important and most of the time, we want only the parents to be the figures of authority- but this can be a problem for accountability with the boss at work, a professor at school, or even a spouse.) Even when it does come from us, Amelia's parents, she some times thinks it is unimportant.

So we moved forward with enrollment at our local elementary school. We went to the back to school night and met with her teacher. Her teacher and I talked about implementing things to challenge Amelia academically and keep her engaged. I am really hoping that this will happen more and more since I haven't noticed any academic challenges after the first week and a half. I'm trying to keep my expectations realistic as I know she has 24 other children she is responsible for. Amelia has yet to come home with assigned home work, but we still work together at home after she gets home from public school.

Amelia loves to ride the bus with her cousins in the morning, and then home from her half day with her kindergarten friend in our neighborhood. I swung by the school as she was finishing and when she saw me was quite upset and worried that she wouldn't get to ride the bus home. Silly girl. 

Amelia at the bus stop on her first day of Kindergarten.

So there you have it. Never in a million years did I think we would be here, but we're here.