First Day of School and the Best Situations

WELL, it's begun. Though I deny it and say we are starting Tuesday, the reality is that we have begun. And like any other school ours lacks perfection. Everyone is still waking up bleary eyed, or maybe that's the bleariness from my eyes making everyone else look bleary...anyway, we're still working on that.

But once we are all dressed, and I do take the longest, we have gathered for two days in a row to discover something about the history of our nation. We have been gathering on this subject now for a year, but this is the farthest we have gotten lately. It makes for a little confusion, "You know that chapter we read a year ago before I went on bedrest? Yeah, that's what we're talking about."

And then there's the usual conversations I have to have with certain people that if they don't get their act together they will either be shipped off to school or we will have to move and stop all fun activity in order for them to attend private school. How do people afford private school? Do you know it costs over $700 a month? $700 a month! That is ridiculous. Incredulous. Really. That's two car payments or a mortgage payment (w/o the taxes). Really. So, today I have concluded that homeschooling is a poor man's private school, since we are legally thus. I spend less than one month's tuition on ALL of our books in one year; though, I could spend more..easily.

Which brings me to my other lament. I cried today. Something about the first day of school, and it has to do with previously mentioned persons complaining about previously mentioned school material. Anyway, I just feel so frustrated that often I cannot afford to purchase the materials I really want. I shelled out $225 last night for math, and need to purchase $60 more. Now this will cover two children, and it should last with them through 6th or 7th grade at least. But STILL! This realization that I will NEVER have all the materials I desire led me to change my science curriculum at the last minute today. I pulled out the science book we were supposed to do last year and started on it. I just made up my mind and did it. That saves me about $30. Not much, but it's a little. And you know what, it's wonderful! It wasn't anybody's first choice, but we're all enjoying it thoroughly.

But it does frustrate me to purchase a really great history curriculum and find the kids are confused. And it doesn't have anything to do with picking up from where we left off. They were confused then, too. It has gaps, and I'm trying to figure out how to fill in the gaps. My dream situation would be to shell out $600 (yes!) and purchase Elizabeth an entirely new curriculum for history and let us continue with what we are doing. But I'm not going to do that. I may try to find harder books for her at the library that will fill in the gaps better and challenge her a little more.

But education is interesting to me. People spend a lot of money on it. I am one of those said persons. But I have found I don't spend nearly as much as some and I'm sure I spend a whole lot more than others. But I cried today because I didn't have the money to do what I wanted, and I cried because I felt inferior as a teacher and a mother. I just felt like this whole year I could have done a better job of saving for books and their education in order to get the books I wanted. But now it's too late, and I feel kind of stuck with what we have. Well, somehow I'm going to have to make the most of what we have. And usually those are the best situations.