Today, I made the decision to send the boys back to their charter school. It’s a decision I’ve been weighing since before Halloween. My philosophies haven’t changed, and I still believe homeschooling may be the best option for them. However, I’ve started to question whether or not homeschooling is the best option for me or for our family.

Being employed at their school was one of the few social activities I had. I feel like being at home all the time is sapping my brain. Plus, I really enjoyed being around like-minded people.

I already know what I’ll miss about homeschooling, but right now this school will provide a good balance for us all. I don’t quit. I simply change my mind a lot. A LOT. For now, this is the best option for us.

The boys have been quarreling excessively these past few weeks, so I’ve been looking for a new approach to getting them to cooperate more. My solution was to take the A Complaint Free World idea and make it more relevant to our family life.

The boys have behavior bracelets they wear on their left wrist. The goal is to keep it there for 21 consecutive days. If they misbehave, they move the bracelet to their right wrist and begin back at Day One. At the end of 21 days, I’m going to let them have a reward.

They’ve been perfectly behaved the entire day. I don’t know if the idea will continue to work, but I’m hopeful.

We’re home from Cedar Point. Jacob has officially earned the title of Rollercoaster King in our family. He rode just about everything. Brendan was reluctant to ride some of the more intense rides, but his first rollercoaster experience was unpleasant, so his reluctance was not unexpected. I think this was probably the last of rollercoasters for me. I was not feeling very well after the first few, and I actually blacked out while on my last one. I’m such a wimp. Today, I’m still recovering from being tossed around so much.

The weather was very comfortable, but the wind caused some of the taller rides to be shut down intermittently. We had plans to go to the outdoor waterpark on Friday, but because of the severe weather forecast, we chose to spend a few hours at the indoor waterpark instead.

Today is their real birthday. My parents should be here in the next hour for dinner and cake.

The boys’ birthday is next week, so to celebrate, we’re taking them to Cedar Point. Again I’m reminded that a nice perk to homeschooling is the ability to go out of town in the middle of the week without the hassle of missing school. We have been to Cedar Point as a family once before when the boys were tall enough to ride the 48″ rides. This year, they’ve passed the 54″ mark and will be able to ride all the (adult) rides. I’ll be packing ginger candy to calm my stomach while “enjoying” the aforementioned rides.

I also bought them two books last week, and presented them a full two weeks before their birthday. I’m a sucker for giving them books. The first book is Pirates. I’m surprised it took me this long to get them any of the new, cool dragon/pirate/wizard books. The second book is The Dangerous Book for Boys. They’re still pretty excited about them both.

We’ve never thrown a party with their friends, and this year is no different. My parents may stop by, and my sister and her husband as well, but it’ll just be an informal sort of thing. We may go all out this year and make cupcakes.

Rob and I have taken the boys to see all three Three openings this year. Spiderman was a midnight show, while both Shrek and Pirates were 10 pm shows. Ah, the benefits of homeschooling. In case you care, Spiderman was as cheesy as we anticipated, Shrek was disappointing, and Pirates was better than expected.

The boys have been enjoying their first season of baseball despite the teams being heavily unbalanced within their league. The unbalance is one of the things I find frustrating about our first baseball experience. There are also a lot of strange rules which aren’t followed consistently. I’m looking forward to them moving up to the next league next year (assuming we’re still living here).

There’s still no word on when or where we are relocating. Nothing more to say about that.

My current clay project is a teapot. I’m actually working on two teapots simultaneously, but one of them is mediocre, and one of them is very good. It’s so good, in fact, that it has pretty much guaranteed my place in the graduate program. Of course, I still need to go through the official application process, but I’ll have a lot more confidence when I apply in the following months.

In Home & Garden news, I’ve completed my bird garden and the birds seem to enjoy it almost as much as I do. Our sub was built in a field, so it feels like a field. There is very little shade around my house. The garden hasn’t provided shade for people, but it makes our yard feel a little less like we’re in a field, and a little more like we’re surrounded by nature.

I know I shouldn’t compare my kids to other kids, but sometimes, I can’t help it. Usually, when my comparisons lead to me feeling inadequate as a mother, I’m not comparing to a real kid, but the way I imagine other kids to be. We struggle with the boys being extremely picky eaters. Granted, it’s totally my fault they’re so picky, but I keep hoping they’ll outgrow it on their own. So far, it’s not working. But my imagination tells me that other kids must be eating more meats and vegetables at dinner because their parents were smart enough to not offer them any other choices early on.

When my comparisons lead me to feeling superior, it’s because I’m picking out the worst traits in certain kids and patting myself on the back for raising my boys better than that. And really, that’s not a healthy attitude to adopt either. However, please allow me this moment of indulgence to brag just a little.

Yes, my boys are extremely picky eaters. Getting them to eat enough vegetables is a struggle, and getting them to take medication for fever or pain is completely out of the question. But there is an upside to their pickiness. By choice, they drink only water, milk, orange juice, and rarely apple juice or cider. They dislike lunchmeat and nearly every cut of beef. They do not eat things like ketchup, salad dressing, salt, and sour cream. They will only eat whole grain wheat bread. They are very lean and strong for their height. So the pickiness isn’t always a bad thing.

One other thing we work on is their manners. I feel like I’m constantly reminding them to say please and to hold a door for people. But they’re extremely generous and sincere with their thank-yous. Often, the thank-yous are accompanied by huge smiles, big hugs, and a little bit of jumping up and down. They’ve been known to be so distracted by a gift (even something as boring as clothes!) that they’ve forgotton other gifts waiting to be unwrapped. They are a stark contrast to what I experienced at a neighbor boy’s birthday party last week. The kid was downright snotty to his mom about opening his gifts, and I never once saw even a flicker of a smile for any gift he received. Just more proof that I rock for not trying to buy my kids’ love and destroying their happiness in the process.

On Wednesday morning, we sent the dogs away, packed up the boys, and headed to the Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky, Ohio for a few days. We didn’t tell the boys where we were taking them, but they figured it out when they saw the water tubes sticking out of the log building. A good time was had by all, however, it would have been slightly more enjoyable for me if my morning sickness hadn’t kicked in this week.

I haven’t been sick yet, but I’m experiencing queasiness resembling motion-sickness that lasts from about 11:00 am until 7:00 pm. Ick. The queasiness combined with being unable to get warm and the relentless fatigue makes me feel more flu-like than pregnant. It’s a big difference from my first pregnancy, which was a breeze.

My boys have always been very social people. Whenever they’re around other kids, they’re quick to recruit at least one new kid in their pack, And though these friendships don’t last beyond that particular experience, it makes me proud that they like to include other children. I take no credit for this.

Today, their friendliness paid off in an unexpected way. I took the boys to one of those gigantic indoor play structures that puts McDonald-land to shame. They have a nice menu and pretty good food too, so it’s not difficult to spend four or more hours there each time we visit. Before I was able to get myself settled in, the boys had found their new friend. I was a little surprised they found anyone since they were the only school-age kids there, but they didn’t seem to feel that making friends with a four year old boy was unusual.

After a few hours of playing with their new friend, his mother approached us and asked if we would all like to have some pizza. Since I had planned on ordering a pizza for the three of us anyway, I figured we could all split one. I found out later that my boys’ new friend was the son of the owner of the place. Needless to say, the pizza was on her as a thanks to the boys for keeping her son entertained while she worked.

When we made the decision to try homeschooling mid-year, I was concerned that the boys would be reluctant to leave their friends. It wasn’t until their last few days that Jacob mentioned he would miss a few of his friends, though he was still very eager to start homeschooling. I’ve also become aware that some of their friends did not react well to the news that my boys would not be returning to school after Thanksgiving.

We’ve been pleasantly surprised by invitations from their old school friends several times since we left. I’m impressed with the parents who have taken the time to find a way to contact us. I also feel proud that my boys were the kind of friends who made a lasting impression on so many other kids.

Yesterday was my first day back to Tae Kwon Do since I made the decision to homeschool the boys. Not surprisingly, a few of the moms were interested to know why I decided to homeschool. It wasn’t the first time I was unable to give them The Answer because there is no simple answer. Rather, it’s a decision that I’ve come to over the last several years.

When I moved the boys to a charter school for second grade, I believed it had solved all the problems I had with the public school. And for the most part, it did. Their peer groups included kids from a range of ages, rather than one age per grade. The student to teacher ratio was capped at 20:1, with the average being 18:1. Teachers taught in pairs, and the material taught per level was consistent across that level. Aside from weekly spelling words, multiplication facts, and the occassional project, there was no homework. The school had a group of professionals called a Teacher Support Team which worked individually with kids who needed extra attention in certain areas. The school philosophy was that each child is an individual, and thus, should not be labelled for any reason. And most importantly, the school felt that teaching children was a partnership between the teaching professionals and the parents. Parents were welcomed in the classroom anytime of any day, with or without notice. The teachers built relationships with the parents and made them feel like they were part of the school. And being a parent in the school was a great experience.

So why homeschool?

1) Socialization. I want more control over which kids are influencing my kids. The accepting nature of the charter school attracted a lot of parents of kids with behavior problems. My boys will still have many opportunities to interact with people, but I will have more control.

2) Quality Time. By the time we leave school, attend afterschool activities, and get home, it’s near 7:00 p.m. I’m exhausted and they want some free time. We don’t have time for dinner, a bath, and “please read to your children every night.” Usually, it only leaves time for dinner and “go watch t.v. until bedtime.” I don’t know what I would do if they had daily homework or if I worked full time outside of the home.

3) Efficiency. The boys can learn more in less time at home. They were unable to learn their 2’s after three weeks in school. We learned them at home in 30 minutes.

4) Curriculum. I want more control over what they’re learning. Only the three R’s are essential. Everything else is optional. I want them to participate in their education.

5) Flexibility. I don’t believe that children must learn on a schedule. Learning can happen at any time of any day during any season. If we want to spend more time on a subject just for the fun of it, we can.

6) Fun. I want learning to be fun for them. Brendan’s first two years of school were not enjoyable for either of us. His learning spark isn’t as bright as it used to be. When he’s learning with me, he doesn’t feel the anxiety he felt in school. Now, he has fun.

There are other things that made the decision easy, such as the state we live in and the fact that I don’t work outside the home, but these are the main reasons.