So I finished my first year of homeschooling...

I'm experiencing a "mixed bag of feelings right now about my homeschool experience. My oldest three children are visiting their father for a while this summer so no year round school here. We are now 6 hours drive apart so they don't get to go as often. We talk and facetime regularly and since their step mom and I are on a friendly basis she and I can talk for a while about our observations on the kids (This makes the whole experience much better.)

So how did the year go? We started in December, not a month I recommend starting in. Each child took to things differently.

My twelve year old daughter had trouble at first with the huge change in her life. Eventually she got into the routine and was doing her work on her own with me checking in on her progress. She loves the workbook style of the traditional CLE curriculum. My only concern for her is she tends to tuck herself into her room now. Side note my daughter is high functioning autistic. She will come out when asked (no delay or refusal and likes to ride her scooter outside when she has a lot of pent up energy. (one of her quirks is she likes to run, you can here her run up and down the stairs into the kitchen to grab and drink and run back up quick as lightening).  I would like to see her more social and I'm planning on enrolling her in an art class at the YMCA for homeschoolers. Because of past social issues we have determined as a family that homeschool is the best for her. I wont go into details for her privacy. She loves art and  hopes to work as a cartoonist one day. This would be a great career for her since she can work alone when wanted. Recently she has been drawing pictures of photos of herself as a baby.

Nutshell:

              What worked for her:
                      Workbooks that gave her direction and routine
                       Homeschool lunch once a month at church
               What needs improvement:
                       More time with her peers
                       More focus on her art from an educational point of view

The eldest boy in the family is turning 11 next month. He is a super kid. He had the best attitude about homeshool and was the most cooperative. So guess what he is not homeschooling next year! Now that doesn't make sense does it. Well this might be hard for some mommas to understand but he is trying out a year living at his dad's house. I'm heartbroken yet excited for him at the same time. His dad is a sports nut (and I mean that in a positive way). He is very involved in his sons (living in his home) sports teams. It was expressed to me that he wished he could give this same dedication to Ian's interest in sports. It was discussed and mulled over at length. I know in my heart that this is a wonderful opportunity for my son to blossom and a positive time for him to relish in the affection of his father. Boys need that. They need to know where they come from as a man and to feel acceptance from their father. And for the questions of why don't I just put him in sports? Its really not about the sports its about something I cant give this boy starting turbulent years of puberty. I cannot be his father.

Our next boy just turned 9 and let me tell you pulling teeth is easier then homeschooling this child!!!! Smart boy, sweet boy, funny boy, try to get him to do work instantly becomes crying boy, whining boy, arguing boy. This one has me about to throw in the towel. I have tried to adjust to all his "issues" with the work. He wants me to sit with him, I do. Wants me to help him share the reading load, I do. Wants to do a little less work, he does.He has no problem understanding the work when a lesson is explained to him he picks it up very quickly.  Is this a control issue, might be. He does have issues focusing on the work and looks for "bunny trails" that can take him away from working. Let me tell you when he doesn't have a problem focusing, when his army step dad pops in from work and is talking to mommy in the kitchen. Just fyi he did experience behavioral issues at public school though they were small ie. talking to much, not paying attention.
I need help here. I've tried being strict and I've tried being "loosey goosey". Moms of stubborn boys HELP! Am I way off base here? I am signing this one up for theater arts at the Y program also. He is a major "ham" and is interested in this. Maybe he is an entertainer at heart, though I prefer his comedy to his drama!

So do I keep him on a traditional tract? Do I start an eclectic approach with him? or am I sparing the rod and spoiling the child?

Last but not least the 5 year old. Beth was doing kindergarten readiness by CLE and computer programs such as ABC Mouse and Reading Eggs. She was not made to work this year

more of a hey
do you want to do some school work and most the time she did. This coming year will be her official Kindergarten year. (Yes they would all be school age, no one at home which I think makes stopping homeschool a tempting offer, sometimes.)
She is having some trouble recognizing letters by name but is better at the sounds they make. We are approaching the learning to read stage and I'm a little nervous. I want this done right. Private christian school sounds good for a year, maybe?

And what about mamma what did she do right and wrong? She gave lots of hugs, laughed a lot, had a great time being with her kids, was able to explain the subjects well as far as teaching goes. She also yelled a lot, cried a lot, dreaded doing school work sometimes and slacked off when the going got tough. I obviously have a lot more mental work to do and decisions to make. I am going to do more research and revisit those core values of why I'm homeschooling in the first place.


P.S. The cat learned a lot and was made honorary assistant principle.