The Simple Life at Home

Well, as I mentioned earlier in the week, this subject of what we'll be doing for school this year has definitely been the hardest ever in our homeschooling lives.

Having moved across the ocean has given us pause to think about why we homeschool and whether or not, at this point, it's the most beneficial thing for our kids. In the end, Hubby and I agreed to apply to the school here which he most liked, and allow God to make the decision as to whether or not they got in.

They didn't get in. (Please note: If your screen is shaking a little bit, that's me doing the happy dance, jumping around like a fool in the background. No pictures, please.)

So, all summer I have been planning on having them transition this year to an online school, in the event that they do go to a traditional school next year. This would give them the chance to get used to working with other teachers, other people's expectations, etc.

The school I was interested I in ended up having some concerns about, so I spent Monday night and Tuesday in a tizzy. We looked at some other schools here in town, but they are all filled with extensive waiting lists. I considered ordering Sonlight again, but didn't feel right about it. This past year and a half have really been a struggle for my kids. I LOVE the curriculum, but it hasn't been a good fit for them lately. I looked at the online school K-12, but it's cost is pretty steep for us.

In the end, I found another online school Keystone National Middle School. It seems to be a good fit for what we are looking for. The classes are appropriate for where my kids are, the cost isn't too bad (though I'm still hoping Hubby's company will help pay for it, in lieu of paying 5x as much in tuition at a local private school which is in his contract), and it seems to be reputable.

If you know something bad about it, just don't tell me ok? I don't want to have to go through this all over again. Sometimes ignorance is bliss, ya know?

In addition to the basic curriculum from Keystone, we'll also be doing our Rosetta Stone Arabic (I'm more convinced now about our need for this since those mean cousins were talking about my kids in Arabic!), signing up for progressing towards the kids getting black belts, Emily will be continuing in her piano lessons and Daniel would like to begin guitar.

Whew! That's what we'll be doing this year. What about you?