The Little Voice

Teenagers are the weirdest creatures on God's green Earth! Sometimes they love ya and sometimes they  hate ya...it all depends on, well, I don't even know what it depends on. The moon? The Stars? High tide, low tide? The sky being blue? The weather? It's Tuesday? I have no idea what drives these peoples moods (can I call them people at this stage of life?).

I have one of these "people" going on 15 in a few weeks. We are basically halfway through now and they say if you're halfway through hell, keep going. So that is what we will do. I feel like I need a Masters Degree to navigate these years.

I know, I was once a teenager too but I wasn't like this...oh no, I was much worse, so I do have an appreciation for the "struggles" that I am going through with mine. She gets good grades but is a complete social butterfly. Her best friend is great and has goals and dreams. I whole-heartedly believe that a teenager can be made or broken by the friends they keep and she has done well in this area. She is starting to break into the boy-craze her dad and I feared. I am hopeful though because the boys she likes right now are all good students and also have extra curricular activities to keep them occupied on something other than my daughter all the time. She also knows that eventually they have to meet Mom and Dad and they better be up to par.

There are very fine lines when trying to keep an open relationship with your teens. It might be easy to become too much of a friend that you don't have their respect and it becomes hard to discipline or lead them and maybe you know TOO much OR you can become too distant that you don't know what is going on in their lives and it becomes harder to discipline or lead. It can be hard to find the balance. I would imagine that it is not always a bad thing to be kept in the dark about some things. Of course, that is what I struggle with. There are some things a mom should know and maybe a dad shouldn't when dealing with these teenage girls and vice versa for teenage boys, I'm sure. I will not say they are secrets but maybe private knowledge. Yeah, I like that, private knowledge.

I do sometimes hear the "Don't tell Dad" line and then it is a judgement call for me. Sometimes, I know he has to know and I give her the options, usually these are the ones she can choose from
-I will tell him while you are there
-You will tell him while I am there
-You can tell him on your own
I very rarely give the option of "I will tell him on my own" only because it really isn't mine to tell and she needs to feel comfortable talking to her dad, point blank, period, end of story. This also helps him to be objective. I know some of you have the dad or even married a guy that immediately flies off the handle at some things or just shuts down at others. He has done much better with hearing her out, sending her to her room, thinking about what was said and calmly talking to her about it later...and sometimes we all yell and scream at each other until we all separate into different corners of the house. Fun times. Basically, no one gets off scot-free in the wake of the teenage years. We are all going down together.

I must admit, I love the times that she sits out in the living room with her little sister and I, or says let's watch a movie. Sometimes, when given the option to stay home or come to some lame (for her) family outing, she chooses to come with us. She has even said things like "That was a good family day"...while I play it all cool on the outside like "Yeah, it was" Inside I am screaming "PARENTING WIN!!" and my heart smiles!

What I will say, because the last 6 paragraphs I said nothing apparently, is that it is very important to give your teenagers your perspective on serious issues. They might roll their eyes or seem like they aren't listening, but they are. When they are in the middle of a situation and they aren't sure what to do,  or what is right and wrong, a little voice pops up in the back of their head to help guide them in their decision...make sure that little voice is yours.

Teenagers are awesome....sometimes.

Palms Academy

The decision to Homeschool Jocelyn was VERY easy for me. Of course, I know not every day will be easy, and Jocelyn will not be excited to learn every day and I will not be excited to teach everyday, but I know her and I know how she likes to learn so I know we will be successful. My reasoning behind it was medical, and I am sure most of you have figured that out by now. Due to her Kidney Disease, she will not be potty trained by the time school will start and I certainly wasn't going to put her in that situation.

What I didn't know when I started thinking about this homeschool thing was that you had to come up with a name. Now, this has to be a respectable name that you can put on a transcript later in life so "Jocelyn's Cute Little Toosh School" was out. I went back and forth using family names and places (Mountford School-after my Gran's maiden name, Fairway Learning Center-after my address) but I went into something both of us share...she loves to point out Palm Trees and loves figuring out the different types...sooo, I went with Palms Academy. She gave me the thumbs up so I guess we were good with that.

Another thing I didn't realize is how much SPACE homeschooling took up! It's not just a teacher book and some paper (obviously, I knew going in it was more than that). I have so many books, so many notebooks, so many manipulatives, props and posters, craft supplies, coloring utensils, and paper. What am I supposed to do with all of it?? I guess it will work itself out once I get started. I am all about functionality. Once we get into a routine and I have felt it out a little, I am sure I will get a good system going.

Jocelyn is currently very excited to start Kindergarten although I don't think she gets that she is doing it AT home. She knows that I am her teacher and she gets that I am working on planning her work but she says things like "I will do that and then bring it home", so we are working on her understanding HOMEschool. She is anxious to start and keeps asking "Can we do school?" I have made up my mind to basically follow Lexie's school year, except for a few nonsense days that the school district gives the kids off. It should work out perfectly. That gives us 5 more weeks before we start!!

I have also come across a local homeschooling group that sets up field trips and such. That will help keep her socialized and keep things fresh and enrich her learning. I am looking forward to them, maybe more than she is. There is a trip to the Aquarium, An Orchard, and Grocery Store that are planned already. We will also be doing virtual field trips to the various countries we will be studying or video lessons about animals or weather. I am basically learning as I go but I will figure out what I can fit into the day, and what I can't.

I have no qualms about the public school system as my oldest daughter has been successful for the past 10 years or so. I, of course, worry about them getting in with the wrong crowds and picking up bad habits, but I know they have to be able to make mistakes to learn from them. Right now, the plan is to homeschool for Kindergarten and get her into school for 1st grade. I hope that homeschooling is so successful that we decide to continue but that is yet to be seen. I might fail miserably and Jocelyn might learn nothing but then I might teach Jocelyn more than any public school could teach her in 3 years. I am just going to go with the flow, stick to my schedule as well as I can and keep Jocelyn moving forward. I am sure I will be posting along our homeschool journey! Wish us luck!!