To “do” home school via the district, we have to create an agreement that says what we will be doing in the next six weeks to keep Katie on track. So today we met with our consultant – a teacher – who helped us set goals, identify resources and get us moving forward.

It was a long meeting but really helpful. We have a few large subject areas – kind of what you would expect – and we have to work within each one: language arts, social studies, math, science, art/music and PE. Katie and I had already made a list of trips we want to go on in the next couple months and figured out some activities related to those trips.

During the meeting, Katie could hear the kids from her old school come out for recess. That nearly killed her. She knew her friends were right there, just on the other side of the fence, without her. She managed pretty well but we finally let her go to say, “hello.” It seemed to do the trick and her recovery was much faster.

Wilder Ranch. Totally Awesome.
We spent the afternoon investigating a volunteer activity. We thought we would be a good fit at Wilder Ranch, [that’s a photo of the barn!] but as we learned more about the commitment, it’s bigger than us. The job, feeding and putting up the sheep and goats once a week in the evening, it not bad at all. It’s actually pretty cool. But the 3pm time requirement and the year commitment is more than we can handle. I just don’t think I can get back from work in time on those days I have to be on site with the client. Don’t even get me started on the summer camp conflict. Bummer.

Update: In today’s paper, there’s a very depressing article about our State Parks and how our local parks, including Wilder, may possibly be closed. What a shame. The one comfort we had with our decision not to do the volunteering, is that we could still go there and simply hang out. I so hope we don’t lose this park.

We didn’t do much actual teaching (beyond what we learned at the ranch). Our smoke detectors woke us at 5:20am so we have been exhausted all day. So glad it’s almost over!

Update: We ended up working late into the evening cleaning the yard for an upcoming family party and at 8pm, Katie mentioned she never had dinner. So we ran out to grab a bite and when we were done and jumped back in the car, we were surprised by a loud explosion! It was fireworks! Capitola’s Birthday celebration was concluding with a huge fireworks show. We parked the car and watched with delight. It was completely unexpected and so cool.

Home School POV: Because home school has given us this incredible new flexibility (no looming bedtimes because I don’t have to roust Katie at the crack of dawn, no pressing homework deadlines), I was willing to go out and grab food at 8pm. Something I would never have done in the old days. As a result, we got to see the fireworks and share a moment we’ll always remember.