Thursday, 28 August 2008

• I think I told you that we started Ty in public school upon our return from vacation. He seems to be enjoying it for the most part (though he has endured some teasing because he is so small). Most of his grades show he is performing to the school's standards as well --with the exception of math, which he is "average" in according to his online grade report.
  
  Well, we started the other kids back to school earlier this week due to an increase in whining and extreme boredom. The five insisted they were going to do well b/c they didn't want to go to public school. Well, Trev managed to home school for 1 day (Tuesday) before having a meltdown and insisting on doing things "his way". By that I mean, when he was told to do an assignment, he would wait an hour before doing it. He was listening to CDs on his computer instead of doing his math, etc. It seems he was having some serious jealousy rear its ugly head in regard to Ty being in school. So much so, that the other day when we went out to lunch, Trev was waiting almost at Ty's bus stop to inform Ty that we'd gone out to eat and he didn't.
  
  Prior to yesterday, we had had a long talk (read: gave a lecture to) with Trev and Cabe --the two of our boys at home who would dissolve in a puddle of tears over having to re-do a math assignment or being told to write out the math question instead of just the answer (something they've been told thousands of times)-- and we informed them that we were done being so lenient and letting them waste the days with their tears over school work that is expected of them. They were told that if major improvement was not made by Xmas, they would be enrolling in public school by January 1st.
  
  Yesterday, when Trev's behavior was in blatant contrast to what I asked him to do for school (after giving him a calm and rather kind talk about the pros/cons of home schooling), I upped the ante so to speak. I told him that if he didn't "get his act together TODAY" he would be enrolling in public school by next Tuesday (since public schools are closed for Labor Day). I went back downstairs to do more work on group stuff only to go back upstairs to get my papers out of the printer and he was doing exactly what I had told him not to do re: school work (not doing his math and instead working on reading with Cabe....which meant he spent the better part of the morning wasting time and "waiting" on Cabe to finish his writing). When Jon returned home from the store (our new dog Magee came with fleas), I told him about Trevor's and my "talk" (meaning I raised my voice and Trev sat saying nothing). We decided we would have a talk with him during lunch.
  
  At lunch, he insisted he didn't want to go to public school, but did admit to being jealous of Tyl and his wonderful public school adventure (ad nauseum) (I don't really know what that means, but I'm pretty sure it's sarcastic in nature). So, we decided we were done and he would start public school. Once that announcement was made over bean soup, Trev didn't mutter another word. He didn't complain, didn't cry, or anything.
  
  So, I called the local elementary school only to be informed that 5th/6th grades are housed in an "intermediate" building with the lovely acronym "D****". After obtaining the number, I called D**** and was told I could come in anytime and enroll him. For all I know, Trev had previously and secretly made an appointment. I took him with me and we drove down to D****, which is really a rather nice building and spoke with Betty who had me fill out less than a mountain of paperwork while she contemplated the Indiana's laws of home schooling and determined she really knew very little about the (almost non-existent) home school laws for our state. In a state of despair upon hearing there are no such things as "testing laws" for us home schoolers (who, I'm sure to her, are less than educated since this particular mother signed and dated all the aforementioned paperwork with the wrong date), she said "um, yes, if you can bring us some writing samples and math pages he's completed, that will be fine".
  
  We took a tour of D**** (which is really 2 schools (or academies) in 1 building) and saw the lovely (and in my opinion, over priced) gymnasium, cafeteria, and "commons" area, as well as his homeroom classroom and other classroom. Trev, meanwhile, was ecstatic about the whole endeavor including the idea of getting up at 5:45 AM to get ready for school and be on the bus at 6:25AM. According to Betty (who is much more educated on the starting/stopping times of public school in this vicinity), D**** starts school at 7:20 AM and ends Tues/Wed/Thurs/Fri. at 2:05; not to be confused with Mondays on which day D**** students end their school day at 1:05PM. Betty says this has to do with something that I've since forgotten, but which my husband reported really amounts to nothing more than wanting to use a limited number of buses to service the entire D. Township area because it is cheaper. All, I had to say (to Betty, my husband, and Trev) is that I'm just glad it's not me who is getting up before dawn to catch a bus that will spend some 40 minutes retreiving kids at their pre-determined bus stops only to be dropped off at a large daycare for 11 and 12 year olds. Okay, so I didn't say that to Betty, but I did think it rather loudly in her presence).
  
  I ended yesterday's public school enrollment adventures with a homemade mocha to ease the nerves.
  
  So, today, (which bears the date I actually wrote on all those enrollment forms yesterday) Trev was up before the sun, dressed, having eaten, and lugging his newly purchased backpack (he'd recently cut the straps off the old one) and school supplies (but only the ones I deemed necessary b/c I just don't see the point in making sure Ms. Ed (home room teacher) has "2 large boxes of Kleenex, baby wipes (what are those for anyway??), and hand sanitizer) as well as art supplies (again, only the ones I could budget on such short notice ---who knew that art classes no longer use crayons, but instead prefer students make use of 24 colored permanent sharpie markers that cost a whopping $16.44 + tax) and his "portfolio", which was really just a large, folded piece of white posterboard, as he was driven to the assigned bus stop by his father who announced "you only get a ride to the bus stop one time. After that, you walk" as they walked out the door.
  
  Our four remaining home schooled students buckled down after the departure of their brothers this morning and went to work on school assignments. Each of them, surely, quivering in their seats wondering who would be next. Though Am showed no worries of ever being sent to public school as she sat down at the "new to her" desk/computer, which previously belonged to her older brother Trev who was once a former home schooled student here at LLI. Their uneasiness quelled as the day wore on and they went about their business, which included filling out checking account forms for Ann/Eli, baking a cake (German chocolate to be precise) for Granny's birthday party tonight (Eli/Cabe), and blowing up balloons for said party (Am.....and her dad).
  
  So, what have you been up to?????

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