A Big Decision - Home School

I am in the middle of making a very unpopular decision (with some). This decision did NOT come lightly... It came from watching my daughter fail when I know she can succeed... It came from talking to countless "experts" in the field of education... It came from the countless times I have had to take privileges away.... It came from wanting more for my kid than what she wants for herself today... It's from getting emails and phone calls from concerned teachers that my kid isn't focused... she is not organized... she is daydreaming... She is all over the place mentally except in the classroom where she should be...

I know there will be a few people in my life that I love who may believe they have the right to give me their opinion of how wrong our decision is... They will believe that they know how it works.. They will have very good intentions... I need the strength... the grace... the "God, please cover my mouth" patience.... I need to accept the fact that I don't have to explain or defend our decisions...... I know my kid.... My husband knows our kid.... And we know - this is the right thing to do for her... and She knows it's the right thing for her.... We are not blindsiding her... It never came down as an ultimatum... or a punishment - it came down to she knows she can't focus with too many distractions and she is tired of getting bad grades when she has always maintained great grades...

Public high school is tough... especially when there are in 39 kids in a class with an overworked teacher who does not have enough time or patience to help kids individually.... It's tough when a child who has a very hard time focusing has other kids that are not on task.. or there's a cute boy that she so happens to have a crush on that is sitting behind her... It's tough when she has to move fast between classes or risk an hour of detention for having a 3rd tardy.. It's hard when there's a biology teacher that gives notes and study details but chooses to make the test so difficult that over 70% of the class fails the test...

A decision is in the making - home school has improved so much in the last few years - there are many more opportunities... home school kids can have advantages that many other kids do not... After much research - prayer - back and forth - We found an on-line program that can have her stay in honors... it can keep her on track - it can go as fast or as slow as she needs... The California UC system gives it outstanding marks... We think this may be the chance to have her shine... The chance to keep her future happiness on track.... her current happiness and self esteem in the here and now where it should be....

As a parent who knows her kid.... I know - she knows this is the best move for her... I am not looking forward to the grief I know I will get... or the judgment... I know the proof will be in the pudding as they say... I have no doubt she will have a great future..... and I know one day she will look back and be thankful that she had parents that cared when she didn't.....

Sports Help Kids Get The Grade

When I was a kid - sports was something that went on everyday - whether it was at school or in the middle of the street in front of my house. I have many fond memories of playing with the neighborhood kids - everyday was an adventure. We all shared crazy imaginations and moms who always had Koolaid and snacks available to fuel our activities. We rode our bikes from our front porches to the pyramids of Egypt - we went on scavenger hunts for important items. We would play hide and seek for hours - until the street lights came on and then it was time to go home for dinner...

Those days are gone.... Our neighborhood is so quiet... There are very few children or teenagers... I have no idea where they all went off to... My girls have always had to make "play dates" or join different clubs or sports to stay active and socialize with their friends.... I wish my girls could have experienced the carefree and wild days of neighborhood youth and adventure....

Monday night we went to my oldest daughter's Tennis Banquet... It's hard to believe that she is already a freshman. It was wonderful to see the bonding that takes place between the players... The entire senior class players were all awarded high GPA awards... This reminded me how important it is to have our kids in a sport (s)... Statistics show that kids who are in sports are more likely to have better grades because they learn time management and they are usually competitive and driven to succeed...

My girl....

What Would You Do?????

When my daughter turned 13 - we agreed to get her a cellphone.. There seemed to be more positive than negative when my husband and I discussed it.. Most of her friends had one... I could reach her more easily..... It would help her connect with her friends over the summer....

Well...... my kid started high school this fall.... She is going to a public school from a Christian school - she has made some new good friends and some new bad friends.... I am happy that the "bad" friends seem to have moved out of the picture for the most part...

Because she has made several new friends - she has decided it was fun to text during classes (she says "everyone is doing it"- so I guess that makes it okay???) So far in the one (1) month she has been in school - her cell has been taken away twice by her teachers.... I found this out by "accident" when she slipped up by telling me why she went to her Biology class after school... She has always maintained an A/B+ average - now she has F's and D's popping up.... It's not that the classes are out of control harder..... it's that (she admitted to this) that she is too busy texting and not paying attention in class... She does need to study and listen - her classes are college prep classes... Her biology teacher one day emailed me to sternly ask me not to text my kid during his class because I was a rude disruption!. My response was HUH? I advised him promptly that I have not texted my child and I would speak to her after school..... She admitted to lying to her teacher - she thought she would not get into trouble if she told him it was me texting....

We have tried different ways to punish her behavior - we took her phone away - only for her to sneak the SIMS card out and put it into her sister's phone.... or a phone that I had no idea we still had... She even borrowed a cell from a friend at school and forgot to give it back - it came home with her!! I have told her to put the phone in her locker (she plays on the tennis team and I need her to contact me when she is ready for pick up) and of course she said she was doing that... Only for me to find over 30 texts on her phone in the middle of ONE class!!!! This is INSANE! She has resorted to lying - sneaking - whatever it takes to text her friends... It reminds me of an alcoholic who cannot resist the temptation of that one drink....

Yesterday - I received an update to her grades - She received another "F" in her honors Spanish class -that was the last straw.... I took her phone to T-Mobile - I asked them what can they do.... I had texting completely removed from her phone and she can only call me, her dad, home, and her sister..... Needless to say she is mad... really mad - she has been in a very bad... very disrespectful mood since yesterday.... She knows why it happened.... She told me she wants a mom that didn't care what she did..... She said that she could not wait till she was 18 and living in a dorm and away from me..... I asked her - "Do you want to go to college?" Answer Yes... "Are you sure? Answer Yes... "Do you think Ds and Fs are going to get you in? Answer No.... So maybe it's not so bad to have a mom that's "In your Grill" (she advised me I'm always in her grill) about your grades???? Answer I don't know.....

What would you do? Poll at the top left corner.

Saying No

I am very proud of my 8th grader - she made honor roll... again.. Come to think of it - she has maintained an "A" average her entire school career thus far... She has awesome study habits - I am also proud of the fact that she challenges herself by taking advanced classes... She is no wimp, my kid...

This week as an award for the students who have made honor roll with a GPA of 3.6 or higher for the past two (2) trimesters - they get to go to Knotts Berry Farm... My kid was so excited and then another opportunity came up... This week there is also a missions trip to a San Diego homeless shelter... She went last year and came back a changed girl.... The trips are back to back days... and she wants to do both.... and now she is angry we made her choose one....

It is difficult being the parent and saying "no"... I would love to say "yes" to all those things that can make her happy.... "Yes, you can stay out all night!" "Yes, you can have candy for dinner." "Yes, you can $100 a day allowance!" "Yes, Yes Yes.." But in the real world "No" is heard more often.....

My husband and I were discussing what opportunity she would choose..... I was hoping the shelter - she loved it last year.... the husband was hoping for Knotts - so we can all join her at the end of the day and go the World Famous Knott's Berry Farm Chicken Restaurant...... Can you get guess what she chose??????