May 27th ~ First Friday of Summer Break State of Our Union Address

Hey.  It's Friday!  Uh... it's Friday?  Feels like one of those never ending Sundays I used to have as a kid - feeling  bored and alone, wishing the weekend would be over, yet not wanting Monday to come because I had to go to school.  Man, I hated weekends sometimes.


Yeah.  I should have known it would end up this way because yesterday was so wonderful.  I told my boy on the drive to drop him off for rehearsal at the school auditorium that it was the first time in his life that I felt complete peace and calm.

What a ride it's been since those early days in La Quinta 

when we home-schooled these three!

Carilo Kids Homeschool ~ Final school projects 1998

Those La Quinta home-schooling days were some good times.  Good times with a tiny bit of "Uh oh, what have I done?"  Montessori school experience had been so great, but after being determined disabled it only made sense to give my little darlings the best of me - my full attention and time.  I would teach them at home since I was no longer able to leave the house for work or volunteering (or most other things).  So off to school we went... to our dining room table.  R.J. in pre-kindergarten, S in pre-school and baby E in wee-school.  I prepared reading and math study materials for R.J.'s level of learning in copies of three:  One copy was passed to my little monkey for scribbling upon, one copy was for S to give a try and do her best with, and one for R.J.   I had the opportunity to watch and see first hand how easily learning came to both R.J. and S while they were at Montessori.  It was a positive experience for all of  us, and I loved the teaching method.  So, I did what I could to preserve that style of teaching at home.  The internet was young back then, but I was still able to find enough resources to get things started.  I'd be up past midnight preparing most nights.  I could have never taken on this task without my mom's help.  She stayed overnight at our house often during that time anyway, because I was sick; having mom there to help with the kids made my life of managing illness, keeping track of medications I was trying, and caring for family, so much better.  It helped that because they were so little, most lessons were Practical Life tasks, and Grandma Carmy had loads to offer in that department.  It was fun.  When we tackled the "book learning", E scribbled away, S proved to be a independent learner, and R.J. did his best in all areas of study... but, I started to notice there might be a problem.  He was either getting bored or lazy - or maybe being home was a little to comfortable, or the attraction to t.v. too strong, or perhaps, our collection of vhs movies being readily available for viewing was a distraction?  What can I say, the kid has always been a media freak.  

TO BE CONTINUED....