Breathing Easier, School Options

With my oldest daughter starting her senior year on Tuesday, and my youngest daughter already in school, I am breathing easier these days. I am really looking forward to homeschooling Caroline and her younger sister Jane together this fall. I actually really like the control I have over what my kids are learning, being sure that they are reading classic books, moving ahead in math more quickly, and helping them to learn at their own pace. I love history and science and I find that when they learn without all the stressors of being in "school" they are more relaxed and enjoy learning about the world a lot more. I think that is why my kids do things like write their own books and the like because they equate reading and writing with fun instead of drudgery. Homeschooling is not for every mom or every kid, but if it works, it is wonderful. I will be sad when I will finally put away my "teacher" hat someday. Time flies by so quickly, as evidenced by the fact that our oldest will be off to college next year. Wasn't she just five, creating her own "computer" out of a cardboard box? Playing dress up on a daily basis? Begging me to read to her one more toddler book for the hundredth time?

An important note: if you wish to homeschool your bp child, just know that unless they are mostly stable, this may not work well. Find the right med mix first before you try this unless you have no other good options, and then I would say to enlist the help of another "teacher" in the form of a tutor for certain subjects, or enrolling in an online school so you can keep on task as much as possible. And you can stretch school into the summer if you lose a lot of time during the more unstable periods of the fall and spring.

Great Parent-Teacher Conference

On Friday we met with Caroline's two teachers for the first parent-teacher conference. We didn't think there would be any surprises, and there weren't, thankfully. Her mid-quarter progress report was good: three As, three Bs, and one C, in Spanish, which we are not too concerned about. The teachers both had glowing remarks about Caroline's behavior and work effort. They said she is a wonderful example to the other kids with her attention to detail and her seriousness about her assignments. One even said they wish they could take a piece of her and put it in every kid! So we are not only relieved that she is doing so well, we are overjoyed with her experience at this school. They are seeing the real Caroline, not the bipolar-distorted Caroline. We have warned them that she may have a period of time where she isn't so great, and to let us know if they see a patterning developing of either mania or depression/anger. They had no idea that she takes seven bp meds right now, which, along with her supplements, adds up to 22 pills a day!

I can't believe how good I am feeling now with the stress of homeschooling our youngest off the table. I really felt like I was completely falling apart. I guess I can only handle so much stress--Caroline would be enough, and I have three others kids to care for! I know what my limit is now, and I am promising myself that I will be kind to myself and not stretch myself that thin again. Lesson learned.

Our pastor puts these amazing quotes in our bulletin each Sunday. They are often truly gripping and poignant. I thought I would share one of them with you:

"Circumstances may appear to wreck our lives and God's plans, but God is not helpless among the ruins. Our broken lives are not lost or useless. God's love is still working. He comes in and takes the calamity and uses it victoriously, working out his wonderful plan of love." Eric Liddell (1902-1945) Olympic gold medalist, missionary to China, subject of Chariots of Fire.