Hello weekend! Today we were blessed with a cyber snow day. The kids' online school's server was down!! Unprecedented!! It affected quite a few schools across the country, in fact. And you know what, it was just what we needed, this little breather day.
This ends the 3rd week of our online learning. Overall, I am very happy with our decision. There are compromises we made, like with any decision, however, they are minor compared to what we are getting in return. The best part of online school is the teachers. They are amazingly helpful and available. My struggling student is getting one on one Algebra help. The curriculum, while secular, is rigorous. I have never seen my kids work harder. They would never work that hard for me, ever. Yet, I also love having them still at home where I can be a big part of their day. They enjoy participating in online teaching sessions. They are super motivated by grades. I can see they will have opportunities to grow as learners in this environment.
So today when the server was down, it was not hard to find meaningful ways to fill our time. I saw glimpses of their homeschool background emerge. They turned on classical music, got out paints, and enjoyed some art time. They got out their independent reading books, and read. They worked on their essays that will be due in a week. They rode their bikes for PE. And they watched Star Trek while making salad for dinner. All in all a great day!
I still feel a bit awkward about our decision to enroll them in an online school. I am glad it is working out as I had hoped. I know many people in the homeschool world would think I sold out. I try not to worry about "them", whoever "they" are. Truth is, when it became evident that my kids needed something different, I put aside my desires, and found something that worked better for them. All three of my kids are unique and have needed different things as they matured. Having Ryan flourish in public high school was not my dream, but it is about him and what he needs. And this online school is giving us a chance to keep on learning at home, just in a different format with a lot more help. I have to get over my fear of man. The Lord is who I must please. :)
