Beginning on January 4th, Aislin will be homeschooled via an online public charter school called Arizona Connections Academy. What exactly does this mean? She will still be enrolled in a school that has certified teachers, and because it's a public school, all materials - textbooks, workbooks, art supplies, and even rocks and dirt samples for science lessons - are all provided free of charge. She will have access to a variety of field trips, school outings, clubs and activities. And what the school can't provide socially on a more frequent basis, we will provide through the Boys and Girls Club, recreational sports teams, and play dates.
It started with behavioral problems at school. At the beginning of every school year, she has struggled with finding her place amidst a large body of students and the rules of her school and classroom. It was understandable because she basically went from a long summer break at home to the busy environment of a public school, from being with family to being in a classroom of diverse personalities. And whenever she found herself in a stressful or emotional situation, her personality chose the "fight response" and retaliated. In other words, Aislin, at 7-years-old, has been threatened with suspension twice - once for fighting on the playground, another for threatening another student, has received more yellow lights than green on her teacher's behavior scale (green meaning 5-star behavior, yellow meaning...meh), and has had to trudge through the lessons of taking responsibility for her actions and never ever lying to mom and dad.
Another issue was the afternoon exhaustion. After 6 1/2 hours at school, she hardly had the energy or the patience to get through pages of homework and also practice piano. She could get through one task without whining, no problem, but trying to finish both was just too much. "Why do I have to do all this work when I just got home?" she'd sometimes ask. Honestly, it was because she only had that window of time before she really became tired, and then nothing would get done. On top of all that, she wanted to enroll in things like gymnastics and soccer, and she wanted to have play dates with her friends...but how could she fit those things into her weekday schedule? She would have a great afternoon for sure, one that a 7-year-old ought to have, but after dinner, cleanup, and a shower, she'd be too tired and cranky to do her homework.
Lastly, she is advancing in Language Arts; in fact, her teacher wants to have her tested for the Gifted and Talented Program this spring...but says the only thing that might hold her back is her behavior. (She thinks Aislin would have a difficult time fitting into a more structured program...as opposed to immediately benefiting from the exact thing her regular classroom lacks.) So I asked her teacher to give her something challenging to work on. Lately, Aislin had been asking me for sight words because sight word flashcards are what Des uses in kindergarten, and it's what she sees me drill him on every day. However, finding sight words for someone who already reads chapter books was a challenge. So I asked her teacher for advice, resources, anything. She sent Aislin home with a pile of 2nd grade sight word flashcards, which she breezed through...and half of them were upside down. I told myself that her teacher just needed a baseline to start with and that she'd eventually find something at her level. I informed her teacher that she needed a more challenging set, and she said she would look for the 3rd grade sight words "if she could find them." That was over a week ago. I have since gotten online and done the research myself, compiled five sets of flashcards for Aislin to go through, and found her baseline - a 4th grade reading level.
Our goals - mine, Tim's and Aislin's - in switching to a homeschool program:
- to change Aislin's environment to something she can handle at this time. My hope is that, by having more time with her at home, I'll be able to teach her to control her emotions, to respond appropriately to stressful situations. And that by giving her part-time social interactions, she'll be able to practice her behavior skills and making good choices without feeling overwhelmed.
- to change Aislin's schedule so that her school day includes all that she needs to do for school, while her afternoon is free for play time, sports, well-deserved relaxation! See, piano practice counts as time spent on a Music Elective. She actually gets credit for practicing piano! And because her work will be individualized, there won't be any homework. Everything she needs to work on will be done as she goes through and completes each lesson. Her school time will not be wasted :)
- to give Aislin the opportunity to explore her interests (the school has a number of clubs, activities, and field trips that she's really excited about) and work at her own level.
We are hopeful for what this school, what this change, has to offer. Here's to the New Year!
