Day 2

Well, it's "official" homeschooling day 2 and we're not off to a great start.  

Went to Mom's Night Out last night and left about 30 minutes after I meant to.  (Worth it for a socialization aspect for me, but the kids were already getting to bed late then.) Then I chatted with my MIL for about 30 minutes before heading home.  Got home and Hubby was finally home after a 12+ hour day.  Sat with him for about 45 minutes before he went to bed and then my mind was not ready to shut down so I stayed up for another hour and a half researching various topics.  Now I want nothing more than to crawl back into bed and get up after lunch!

It was almost 8am - the time I want the kids ready to start working - before I remembered they should have been up before I managed to pull myself out of bed.  I also forgot there was a curriculum swap today from 11 to 2, which will cut into our schedule.  Ah well, I guess that's one of the awesome parts about homeschooling - flexibility!

I suppose I should get in the shower and wolf down some breakfast so we can get something done before we head out.  

Coffee, here I come.  

Interesting

Hubby sent me a link to The Changing World - specifically about two young teenaged boys who grew up in the ghettos of Chicago and made an audio documentary about 10 days in their lives.  Then there was an interview - or rather, another audio documentary, from one of the men, 15 years later.

Listening to the first part, I wondered if that's what life was like for TSS and EB.  They walked past children with guns daily, had an alcoholic mother, a father who they'd visited once, and were fostered by their grandfather's girlfriend who told them they had to live somewhere else because she was moving and wouldn't be taking them with her because they were "so bad".  (What a way to grow up, being told constantly that you're not a good person!)  Last we knew, she was still in the area and the only contact she's ever made with the boys was to call and tell them that their 14yo sister had had her baby.  (That was over a year ago.) I don't know her situation, but I would like to think I would at least be curious about the welfare of children I took care of for years.

Because they were wards of the state, I was told they need to be evaluated yearly by a pschycologist. The same one visited with them in January 2008 and January 2009.  She couldn't believe they were the same children - they sat still, they responded to her questions intelligently, looked at her - their whole demeanor had changed.  I certainly don't say that to say Hubby and I were the primary influence; rather it's what the boys did for themselves, once we provided a stable environment, with rules and boundaries.  

Would they have turned out like their environment or would they have risen above it?  It's hard to guess - but I'm glad we don't have to.  We know there has been a difference in their lives - a positive one we like to believe - and the only choice they'll have to make is which of a thousand wonderful different paths to take.