New Home: New Decisions
I'm pretty sure that everyone who reads my blog knows me in real life. Or at the very least, is friends with me on facebook. So, you all know that we moved from a little 1 1/2 story cape cod in Cudahy to a much larger home on Milwaukee's south side. The plan to move came about rather suddenly. Justin and I hadn't really been seriously looking, but when I happened to see this house on realtor.com, I fell in love. And so did Justin after I showed him. On one hand the process of seeing the house, putting an offer on it, waiting for the financing, and closing seemed to take forever. And on the other, it seemed like a whirlwind.
It's been exactly six weeks since we closed, and sometimes it still feels surreal that we got it. I felt a little weird the very first time I walked down the stairs from our bedroom, but every subsequent time felt a little more like home. Now it feels totally like home. And it looks like home too - mess and all.
This past Sunday we had our official housewarming party. It was an open house style party starting at 1pm and going all day. It was a really great party, with a wide range of loved ones in attendance from different parts of our lives. And since our house is rather large, it didn't feel crowded, even though we had 75+ guests throughout the day. Food was plentiful, as was good conversation. A few rounds of shuffleboard were enjoyed down in the basement too. An unexpected bonus was some great housewarming gifts!
Because of its size, our house is probably going to be a popular meeting spot, and I'm totally okay with that I've always loved having friends over, but now it'll be nice to have room for everyone! I am pretty excited about all the fun times we are going to have here!
Enough about the new home. Now it's time to talk about the new decisions...
I had a brief conversation at the houswarming party about school with my friend Mehgan that has basically changed the whole course of our future. I've always known that I wanted to homeschool our kids. Well, maybe not always, but since before they were born. I never could pinpoint exactly what methodology or philosophy I would follow, but I knew I wanted to foster a love for learning.
Justin and I had decided that we would put Josie and Deuce in 4k, and then proceed to homeschool them. Last year Josie was in 4k, and she totally thrived. She learned how to read, became much more socially adept, and developed other important life skills. This year, Deuce is in 4k, and Josie is doing 5k at home. The curriculum I chose is bible based and thorough, but it is too easy for Josie. Because she is a fluent reader, I end up skipping a lot of the content that is pre-reader based.
That's not the only thing that has been affecting our homeschooling success. Driving Deuce to school in Cudahy (a 15-20 minute drive) for afternoon K4 and taking care of the house and the two little ones has also made it difficult for me to really get a handle on Josie's education.
I want to be in control and totally sure of what I'm doing, but unfortunately, I'm just not. I still want to homeschool. I love the idea of being at the forefront of my children's education, but I'm just not sure teaching them at home is what is best for them. And it takes a lot of humility for me to say that. I know that I am smart enough and capable to teach my kids (at least the elementary grades), but that doesn't mean they will get the best education possible.
In fact, there's no way that I can guarantee they will get the best education possible, no matter what route we take, whether it be homeschool, private school or public school. Justin and I have to learn as much as we can about our options, be involved, push our children to do their best, and trust God with their academic future.
(I understand that in terms of eternity, academics isn't all that important, but I do believe that God wants us to keep our minds sharp, work hard, and provide for our families.)
So back to the short conversation on Sunday. Mehgan asked if I had ever considered a language immersion school, such as Milwaukee Spanish Immersion School. That immediately piqued my interest, because we moved to a neighborhood that is 66% Hispanic. Knowing Spanish would not only be beneficial to my children when they are grown and looking for jobs, but it would also be useful in the near future, growing up in this neighborhood.
MSIS is a K-5 school, with K4, K5 and 1st grade being entirely taught in Spanish. Grades 2-5 are 80% in Spanish and about 20% in English. By the time students leave the school, they should be fluent at speaking, writing and reading Spanish. What an awesome opportunity! Children will not be accepted after 1st grade, meaning we have to enroll Josie now or never.
But since it's just an elementary school, we would have to have a different plan for their middle school years and on. I could homeschool then, but I have a feeling that after five years of having the kids go to school that switching back to home education would be difficult. Justin and I have been looking into schools in the area, and some definitely look like they would potentially be good.
For example, Woodlands School seems to be highly rated and reviewed. It's K-8 with combined grades (K4/K5, 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, 7/8) in each class. Another k-8 school in our area that looks like it could have potential is Golda Meir. I'm sure there are more, but I'd have to do more research. I've also looked into the Montessori schools a little bit, but Josie and Deuce are too old. We could possibly get Margo enrolled in a Montessori school next year, but A) do we want my 3 year old in school and B) do I want to commute to two different schools every day? The answer to both questions is probably not.
I never thought that we would be sitting here trying to figure out what school to send our kids to, but here we are. And since I tend to overthink things, you can imagine how much of my thoughts have been on schools lately! Any advice, words of encouragement and prayers would be helpful. 80)
It's been exactly six weeks since we closed, and sometimes it still feels surreal that we got it. I felt a little weird the very first time I walked down the stairs from our bedroom, but every subsequent time felt a little more like home. Now it feels totally like home. And it looks like home too - mess and all.
This past Sunday we had our official housewarming party. It was an open house style party starting at 1pm and going all day. It was a really great party, with a wide range of loved ones in attendance from different parts of our lives. And since our house is rather large, it didn't feel crowded, even though we had 75+ guests throughout the day. Food was plentiful, as was good conversation. A few rounds of shuffleboard were enjoyed down in the basement too. An unexpected bonus was some great housewarming gifts!
Because of its size, our house is probably going to be a popular meeting spot, and I'm totally okay with that I've always loved having friends over, but now it'll be nice to have room for everyone! I am pretty excited about all the fun times we are going to have here!
Enough about the new home. Now it's time to talk about the new decisions...
I had a brief conversation at the houswarming party about school with my friend Mehgan that has basically changed the whole course of our future. I've always known that I wanted to homeschool our kids. Well, maybe not always, but since before they were born. I never could pinpoint exactly what methodology or philosophy I would follow, but I knew I wanted to foster a love for learning.
Justin and I had decided that we would put Josie and Deuce in 4k, and then proceed to homeschool them. Last year Josie was in 4k, and she totally thrived. She learned how to read, became much more socially adept, and developed other important life skills. This year, Deuce is in 4k, and Josie is doing 5k at home. The curriculum I chose is bible based and thorough, but it is too easy for Josie. Because she is a fluent reader, I end up skipping a lot of the content that is pre-reader based.
That's not the only thing that has been affecting our homeschooling success. Driving Deuce to school in Cudahy (a 15-20 minute drive) for afternoon K4 and taking care of the house and the two little ones has also made it difficult for me to really get a handle on Josie's education.
I want to be in control and totally sure of what I'm doing, but unfortunately, I'm just not. I still want to homeschool. I love the idea of being at the forefront of my children's education, but I'm just not sure teaching them at home is what is best for them. And it takes a lot of humility for me to say that. I know that I am smart enough and capable to teach my kids (at least the elementary grades), but that doesn't mean they will get the best education possible.
In fact, there's no way that I can guarantee they will get the best education possible, no matter what route we take, whether it be homeschool, private school or public school. Justin and I have to learn as much as we can about our options, be involved, push our children to do their best, and trust God with their academic future.
(I understand that in terms of eternity, academics isn't all that important, but I do believe that God wants us to keep our minds sharp, work hard, and provide for our families.)
So back to the short conversation on Sunday. Mehgan asked if I had ever considered a language immersion school, such as Milwaukee Spanish Immersion School. That immediately piqued my interest, because we moved to a neighborhood that is 66% Hispanic. Knowing Spanish would not only be beneficial to my children when they are grown and looking for jobs, but it would also be useful in the near future, growing up in this neighborhood.
MSIS is a K-5 school, with K4, K5 and 1st grade being entirely taught in Spanish. Grades 2-5 are 80% in Spanish and about 20% in English. By the time students leave the school, they should be fluent at speaking, writing and reading Spanish. What an awesome opportunity! Children will not be accepted after 1st grade, meaning we have to enroll Josie now or never.
But since it's just an elementary school, we would have to have a different plan for their middle school years and on. I could homeschool then, but I have a feeling that after five years of having the kids go to school that switching back to home education would be difficult. Justin and I have been looking into schools in the area, and some definitely look like they would potentially be good.
For example, Woodlands School seems to be highly rated and reviewed. It's K-8 with combined grades (K4/K5, 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, 7/8) in each class. Another k-8 school in our area that looks like it could have potential is Golda Meir. I'm sure there are more, but I'd have to do more research. I've also looked into the Montessori schools a little bit, but Josie and Deuce are too old. We could possibly get Margo enrolled in a Montessori school next year, but A) do we want my 3 year old in school and B) do I want to commute to two different schools every day? The answer to both questions is probably not.
I never thought that we would be sitting here trying to figure out what school to send our kids to, but here we are. And since I tend to overthink things, you can imagine how much of my thoughts have been on schools lately! Any advice, words of encouragement and prayers would be helpful. 80)
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