School is finally over. Our last day was June 14th with Synnove finishing up her last few lessons of math. The major change is now our new normal and the upset is virtually nil. I am happy. We didn't accomplish the things I intended, but we survived. Thankfully, our days started to smooth out as the busy-ness of spring started to creep...not to mention the magnetic draw to venture out into our unusually warm and beautiful spring weather! Who'd have thought I'd be able to get a nice brown glow from a week of sunbathing in April?! I will say, though, our school days often still lasted till evening, but not because of screaming fits of rage and refusal. Sunshine on the little piece of heaven we call "home" is a constant distraction, especially after being cooped up all winter.
We are officially enrolled with Oregon Connections Academy for the fall, and I'm looking forward to starting fresh. The idea of doing 100% home school has been permanently placed on the back burner(for now). I can never say "for sure" that things won't change in the future. I just can't imagine putting myself, or my kids, through another change. I'm not ready, nor am I dissatisfied with the program we are currently in. I realize that there are a LOT of fantastic programs out there and that there are some that would be much better than what we're doing. But, I've weighed the options in my head, and I really feel that ORCA is the compromise that will work best for the situation we, as a family, are in. ORCA provides "flexible structure." I had legitimate reasons for why I never wanted to home school...ORCA allows for those reasons to still stand (to some degree).
Summer is a welcome break...as always. It's funny how some things just don't change. For instance, the kids have been at each other's throats this last week! It really was a true "first week of summer break" even though the kids weren't in regular school. Haha!
On the 13th we went on one last ORCA field trip for the school year with Soren's super-awesome teacher, Mr. Jason Webber. Jason was also my friend Andrea's daughter's teacher (this was ideal for planning and coordinating school stuff!). Andrea and I caravaned with 6 kids to Sauvie Island to pick strawberries in the uncooperative weather. We got SOAKED, but made the best of it.
Raelynn and Soren (Mr. Webber's 1st graders)
Jason's mom, Jason's daughter Hazel, Katelynn, Andrea, Rae (in the back), and Synnove
Synnove and Kate with boots caked in mud trying not to slip on the way back to pay
Rae, Jason, Soren, and Synnove
