Week 1

We decided on a 4-day week for homeschooling so that The Kid could have a 3-day weekend with his dad. I'm not worried about it because I know how much wasted time there is in a 5-day week at school. It also gives me more planning time, homework time for myself (grad school started back up this week!), and time to focus on the baby.

I think the first week went well. The Kid is having a hard time adjusting to the fact that he isn't sitting at a desk doing busy work for hours on end, so I guess we are still in the "deschooling" stage. Tuesday we went to a local park for a homeschooling playdate I had heard about with boys closer to his age. He got super shy when we arrived and sat and waited for the people we knew to get there. As soon as they arrived and he was introduced they were off and running, playing basketball, sharks and minnows, etc. As we were leaving he exclaimed, "This is way more social than regular school....You get to play with kids of different ages." This led to a discussion of the curious fact that school is pretty much the only time in your life you will be expected to socialize only with people your age. It also reminded me why I was doing this.

So far I've had pretty good responses as word of the homeschooling has gotten out. We got a call from the mother of one of The Kid's school friends, because they were worried we had moved. We made plans to get the boys together, which allayed a fear that I think we both had. The Kid's dad and I also discussed switching his schedule around once a month so that he is here over a weekend which should also help him be able to spend more time with the school friends he is missing.

Last night was the first night of my classes, and the longest amount of time that I've left the baby alone. I was worried that I hadn't pumped enough milk for him, but when I got home he was playing happily. Apparently he slept until an hour before I got home. Go baby!