School Time

I signed the kids up for summer school. I pitched it as a sort of trial run. They would try out a half-credit course and we would go from there. 

The Girl Child is registered for a fully loaded fall semester. It's 'tentative' but we wanted to make sure she got the courses she wanted/needed should we decide to continue with this format of school work.  The Boy Child is registered for a fall science credit. He is preparing for a winter semester in a bricks-and-mortar school. 

The summer half-credit is civics. It was next up in the plan anyway. I have the textbooks and had just about started to prep the course for them, when I had a change of mind in regards to the homeschooling path we were on. The timing seemed to work out as both kids are registered -there were hoops to jump through - and both are busily working their way through the boring work of meeting others' expectations.

Civics is Canadian government. I have to say that the kids are pretty well versed in the subject. It feels like they are learning to present their work to someone for evaluation and filling in few holes as we go along. The Girl is producing like crazy...but then producing paperwork has always been her thing. The Boy is a little bogged down in the process of producing. He wants it to be 'right'. 

Free time has been seriously curbed. Four days a week there are two-hour classes to attend (online, live). There is easily two hours a day of reading and assignment work as well. 

So far the virtual school is looking good. As always, much of the course depends on the teacher. Although the kids are taking the same Civics course, they are assigned to different teachers, one more dynamic and entertaining than the other. In a week, there has been a quiz and two assignments handed in yet we are still waiting on the evaluations. I think The Boy would be more comfortable moving forward if he had some feedback about his work. I'm sure that's difficult in a condensed course, though. (It's an 18 week course condensed to 4 weeks.) 

I'm finding my time is redistributed. It's a little strange, really. I'm needed for finishing: checking over work before it's submitted, explaining a couple of points after a lecture or reading, finding an alternate source of information. I'm less divided. Usually I'm doing dogs, schoolwork, house, husband, schedule, meals all at the same time. This last week has felt less hectic in that I'm able to concentrate on just one or two things at a time. Somehow, my brain feels more awake. 

Today I'm preparing The Boy for the fast jump from Federal Political Structure to Provincial Political Structure, determining if the pool has a leak, watching Germany vs. Brazil, taking The Girl to work, The Boy to soccer practice, myself to knit night and then picking The Girl up after her very first Meet His Parents evening. Onward!

♥Mrs. A