I Lack Organization Skills

I have mentioned before that my kids are being home schooled this year. Well, technically it is an online charter school, so all their lessons and teachers will be on the computer. It is my job as their "learning coach" to assist with every lesson, make sure they are doing what needs to be done, organize all the supplies, keep in contact with the teachers, mail in work, etc., etc. I think it may be more work for me than it is for them! We had already received all the computer equipment in the mail, and we just recently received all the text books and supplies for the year. (Not including the supplies for any electives they decide to take once the school year has started.) Right now I have 2 boxes, both weighing 39 lbs each, full of books. I now have to figure out how to organize all this stuff so that nothing gets lost or ruined, and so that everything is easily accessible everyday. I have great ideas in my head. Wonderful shelves and trays and whatnot, however the actual setup gets me every time. It isn't going to look like I imagine it in my head, so then I get cranky. Just a little bit!

This entire thing has become a bit overwhelming. Not only am I trying to figure out how to get all this put away, I'm also worried about how the kids are going to do their work. The website is very organized, but there is so much stuff to figure out. I have been told that once we are doing for a little bit we will get the hang of it, but still. I know without a doubt that it is the best thing for the boys, and regardless of how much work it is going to be for me, that's really all that matters.

Cyber School

I have already made the decision to have the boys attend a cyber school next year. Everything I read was awesome, and the good outweighs the bad. Last night we attended an informational meeting put on by the school. Even though I had already made up my mind I thought it would be good to check stuff out in person and get a little more info about how things work. This meeting was wonderful! It was put on by 2 actual teachers from the school. I was a little worried about how the whole teacher thing worked, but the teachers are all in a building somewhere doing their lessons, putting on live classes, and are available for help if you need it. At anytime we can go to the main building and look around and meet the teachers. (Jon may already be there...the two teachers LOVED him!!!) Most of the teachers are local, maybe not all. The amount of get togethers and field trips are impressive. We can attend field trips we want, even if they aren't in our area. We can also not attend them if location or time or whatever is an issue. The kids will get a computer and printer to do their work on, plus actual text books! The school they are in now doesn't have books. I can't even begin to tell you what a huge nerd I am and how much I enjoy text books! I was looking through some last night and wanted to take them home!! After this meeting I know that the right decision was made. It will mean a lot more work for me and for the kids, but it will be worth it.

Second Guessing

So, I took the first step in enrolling the kids in a cyber school. Basically they will do all their classes online and have scheduled activities throughout the year to meet the other kids and teachers. Part of me thinks that this is absolutely the right decision. Then there is the another part of me that worries about the boys missing out on "school stuff". Jacob will be in high school in a little more than 2 years. With high school comes dances and football games and all those things. Is it wrong of me to keep him from all that? From meeting kids that may end up being some of his best friends? I don't know. Personally, I hated high school. If online classes had been an option for me, I would have loved it. But they aren't me. We are hopefully moving in a year or so, and who knows, we may end up being in an awesome school district with a wonderful high school. I can always put them back in a traditional school at the point. I always second (and third!) guess myself. Why should this be any different??