Well, I'm totally behind on my blogging but I'm going to try to do better. I mean, my last post was about the kids end of school program and now I'm blogging about them starting school again. But wait, our summer was only 7 weeks long, so maybe it's not as bad as I thought. Anyway, yes, our summer vacation was only 7 weeks long. It was way too short! I had all these visions of us going to the beach every day and exploring the island but it didn't work out quite like that. We had a ton of rain, way more than expected, so that kept us inside more than we would have liked. As a result, the kids watched way too much tv and we all got a little stir crazy. We did have a little beach time, plus we also went to the library and Imiloa Astronomy Center which is always fun and educational too. We were lucky enough to have Matt's aunt and uncle and their family visit in July so we got to spend a few days with them. Thanks Don and Sue and family for letting us crash your family vacation!
The girls started back at school on at the end of July and Jackson started on August 3rd. For those who don't know, we decided to do something different with Jackson this year. Last year was such a struggle for him we just couldn't send him back. The kids just didn't accept him and some were quite mean to him. He also struggled because he's a gifted student but also has ADD and the public school setting just wasn't addressing his educational needs. I spent a lot of time researchng different options this last spring and was almost settled on homeschooling him when I learned of a charter school based on Oahu that has an online program. My friend's sister-in-law is one of their teachers and we had the chance to visit with her when she was visiting. The more she talked about it, the more I felt like it was a great option for Jackson (and for me). Because it is a charter school, they provide the curriculum for free and from the research I've done, it's great curriculum. He is assigned to a home room teacher who he communicates with through email and has a weekly conference with online with other students. They provide a computer and printer for him to do the work on. He logs on daily and completes part of the work online and part off line. I am his "learning coach" and help teach him as well as record his "attendance" which is basically how much time he spends on each course each day. We felt like it was a good way for him to be able to be flexible with his time which he needs sometimes as he gets really distracted but also be able to move through some material quickly if he can and others he can spend more time on it if needed. So anyway, we started this week and it's been a challenge adjusting but I'm hopeful we'll get it down and he'll really thrive within this situation. We'll see, I'm very hopeful. We're concerned, of course, about his social interactions so I'm looking for ways to get him involved in some sports or other things to encourage that. It will definitely be an interesting year. Wish us luck!
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2 comments:
Wow, this sounds involved. I hope it helps him focus and develop good study skills. I went to a correspondence school the year I spent in Chile with Grandma and Grandpa, but I did have to spend 4 hours daily in a home school environment with a few other students. I could work at my own pace and I loved that. I have to say it really improved my writing and studying skills. Best of luck to you and your little fam!
I hope the schooling is going well! We were at Luke's soccer game tonight and there was a little boy on the other time that could've been Jackson's TWIN. no joke.
Say hi to the rest of the kids, too, for me. :)
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