Keeping Up With The Jacksons

But overt he past few days, I've been thinking about what I want to do with my blogs and where I want them to go. Figuring out where I want them to go was actually easy, but how I was going to do it is a bit harder. I know I want these blogs to grow, but because I feel like I don't have a ton of time, I know it will be slow. For right now, I've chosen to go with the flow. When I have time and a topic to write about it, I'll do it. If I don't, I won't. Once I've established a routine that doesn't feel forced, then I will begin scheduling posts farther in advance. I think jumping straight in with 3 posts a week was too much for me and I would get discouraged. So my goal is once a week but I won't stress if I can't make it happen. 

How's that for wishy washy commitment?

And how about we switch gears and talk about where we've been. The short version? Still in Savannah. But our time here is slowly winding down. TJ has just over 6 months until he graduates and we start figuring out where our next home will be. Chances are it will Los Angeles, but I'd like somewhere up north. I prefer Boston or my hometown, Greenfield, but those are highly unlikely so I'll settle for New York. lol.

Dylan and I, and TJ for that matter, enjoyed our summer off from school. While I went back to work in July, Dylan followed 2 weeks later and TJ is still on summer break for the next 2 weeks. Oh, the joys of being on the quarter system.

Our summer was pretty uneventful. Dylan and Jordyn went to visit their grandparents so TJ and I were kid-free for a little while. But when they were here, we squeezed in a mini photo session at the request of my mom. 

Now that was eventful. You may not be able to tell by the sweet smiles above but they were not happy about it one bit. 

Gotta love real life. One topic I have been exploring and researching a lot lately is homeschooling. It started with the idea of Jordyn and Pre-K. Because of when TJ graduates and us moving, the odds of Jordyn getting into any Pre-K program is slim-to-none. I was already thinking that I should do something with her at home that will prepare her for Kindergarten. And then there's our school system. I haven't been super happy with the way the schools are here and knowing that the schools in California can be just as bad if not worse, has me concerned. The schools aren't that great and they definitely aren't the safest. Since private school is not an option unless they both were to get scholarships, I started thinking about homeschooling. After all the research I have done, I have myself convinced this is what I want to do. Not only can I give them the instruction they need (or it can be done with a co-op, homeschool charter school and/or online classes), I can incorporate good Bible lessons in, something I've wanted to do for a while. I talked to TJ and he shared his concerns which led me to more research so he could see the pros and cons and he has agreed to give me a one year trial to see if it's right for our family.

There's just one problem. Finances. The curriculum can be expensive and working would be more difficult. It is possible for a parent to work and homeschool but it's harder. I'd love to find a job that will allow me to work from home (ideally part-time if we can afford that financially). And then I have to do lots of used curriculum research so I can cut those costs as well. Thankfully, I have time. We know we won't pull Dylan out of school now and then we'll start next year, so looking around now will help.

Jordyn is a bit of a different story. She is so into going to school and doing schoolwork like Dylan, I really want to seize that opportunity for her and figure out something for her. I found a Letter of the Week curriculum on a blog called Confessions of a Homeschooler and after reading her blog for a few weeks, I knew it was something I wanted to try with Jordyn. The past few weeks, I have been preparing the lessons to get Jordyn started and tomorrow we will begin. It's going to remain informal but she is so excited for "schoolwork."

I did find a free curriculum for Dylan on Easy Peasy All In One Homeschool and he's actually pretty pumped at the idea of homeschool so I suggested we try it out as some supplemental work. He's all for it and he wants to start tomorrow too. For him, his main focus is still his schoolwork from school but I told him if he wants to try it out, he can do as much as he wants. That kid is ready to go. I love how excited my kids get when it comes to learning. 

Well that's about it for now, but I'm hoping to update you more on how our informal homeschooling goes and on how and when I find some affordable curriculum.