July 2013

My last day of work was July 11.  I am officially a SAHM again.  I believe it was meant to be.  W is going into 7th grade and more of his recent and upcoming activities take place on evenings and weekends.  And J is going into her senior year at LaGuardia Arts and there are lots more performances, future-planning meetings (college, conservatory, career, etc), and other things for which I need to be around.  I'm ready for and looking forward to this new chapter in my life.

July has been a lot of relaxation.  Long walks, movies, Minecraft.  The apartment got updated - new kitchen floor, new refrigerator, new Bob O Pedic mattress for B and me, new organization routines, and I'm getting used to having evenings back with the family since I'm not working anymore.

We're down to just math and a summer bridge book for the rest of the summer now.  We are saving the History, Science, Lit, and Geog programs for September.  We still use the white board for math and W is doing more pencil work with the bridge book.  I'm bringing cursive back every now and then just to make sure he hasn't forgotten it.  In the fall, we probably will not continue with a separate vocabulary, spelling, and writing program.  Those subjects are incorporated into the other subjects he will be doing.  His reading and writing issues, though very improved, are still there.  Too much intervention and too many programs will just turn him off completely.  I need to take this at the right pace so that he not only improves even more, but maybe will start actually enjoying reading and writing someday.  I realize that being as minimalist as possible and keeping it simple is the way to go.

Over the years I have been trying to figure out a way to explain W's homeschooling in words that leave "home" out of it.  "Homeschooling" just doesn't convey the whole idea.  So from now on I'd like to describe what W does as "supervised independent study with field instruction".  (He chooses his curriculum and schedule, it's overseen and guided by me, and at least a quarter of his education is via outside trips and classes).  So that's what I'm going to say to others from now on when I'm questioned.  :D

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Here's what J has done this month:

• Hip hop workshop classes - Out of 25 teens in the class, she was 1 of 6 chosen to perform choreography to be videoed and submitted for another music video
• Modern dance class in downtown Manhattan - she was asked to join their group but she has other commitments coming up. 
• Dance workshop with Victor and Angel from Dance Moms Miami (Lifetime TV)
• Spent time at the Museum of Natural History, Times Square, and Lincoln Center