Oliver is spending the night in San Diego with a small group of people from a wonderful little school that includes homeschoolers in its Friday program. They left in a car caravan yesterday and will be exploring the border today, learning about immigration policies, peace and justice. He was a bit nervous (and so was I) to leave with relative strangers, and I'm so proud of him for doing so. Our adventures in de-schooling continue, and each day that passes makes the difficult decision to pull him from school a more concrete and "right" one. I've ordered some books to supplement our far-reaching curriculum and will be, of course, farming out the math as just the sight of it gives me the willies. He will also continue to see an educational therapist who is a reading specialist each week. To those who think I've enough on my plate and couldn't possibly or shouldn't possibly handle another side, let me assure you that this isn't even gravy on the buttery mashed potatoes (meaning, delicious but bad for me). It's roasted root vegetables with the best olive oil and sea salt.
Happy for both of you. I remember the misery, still--and we went through it a dozen years ago.
ReplyDeleteHaving a happier and more relaxed boy would seem to make de-schooling easier I think. I'm with you on farming out the math. Teaching that would really do me in quickly!!
ReplyDeleteBest,
Bonnie
That picture proves you made the right decision!!
ReplyDeletetwo of the sweetest faces I've ever seen and I couldn't be happier to be smiling back at them. Feeling the love.
ReplyDeleteHallelujah. I'm so happy for you all. That is a glorious picture. Both of you are radiant.
ReplyDeleteYour plate is indeed full, but it's Thanksgiving season and full plates are IN.
ReplyDeletein complete agreement…. esp the part about farming out the math…. root vegetables with sea salt and olive oil have always been highly underrated….
ReplyDeletea beautiful portrait. i think you have been very brave and independent for knowing what your boys needs and making that happen for him. You do right by your children, that is for sure.
ReplyDeleteThere is such a softness in both your eyes in that picture and I imagine Oliver's gratitude to you for liberating him from that daily torture and yours to the universe for showing you so clearly you did right by your boy. Now he can truly take in the world! His heart and mind are so wide open!
ReplyDeleteIt's always the eyes in your pictures. Always. And oh, Oliver's eyes in this one.
ReplyDeleteNot only have you done the right thing, are doing the right thing for your boy's mental health, I have a strong feeling that his education is going to be a hell of a lot better than what he'd be getting in any sort of more formal situation.
Win-win.
Sounds like Oliver will have wonderful and enriching experiences...perfect for his entrepreneurial spirit! And how nice that you can farm out the math...good news all around.
ReplyDeleteFan-freaking-tastic!
ReplyDeleteTook a lot of courage to make the move but you'll make it work--and he'll learn important life skills in the process--way more than any school could give him.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I fucking hate blogspot, like when I'm writing a long comment to you and then it refreshes the page and takes away my comment!
ReplyDeleteAs I was saying, I admire you for taking this on. You do have a lot on your plate and good on you for doing this for Oliver. I thought about doing the same for my son but couldn't manage it with Miss Katie. My son has learning disabilities and ADD. He always did poorly in school, didn't learn to read until he was twelve and believed he was stupid. His IQ is 135. There wasn't really much by the way of internet back when he was Oliver's age. He finally dropped out of school but is now working on his business degree and doing well. He still struggles with reading but he enjoys what he's doing.
I suspect Oliver will flourish in this new learning environment. I wish I could have done the same for my son.
I suspect Oliver will flou
Most kissable cheeks evah! And maybe you HAD too much on your plate before this ....
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that getting rid of the stress and hassle of dealing with a bad school situation left a whole lot of room on your plate that you can continue to fill with good stuff.
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