The uninteresting, consolidated

The fun activities (reading, knitting, crocheting) have screeched to a halt in favor of getting two young men ready for a new school year. Two different schools (one elementary and one intermediate) along with different requirements and lists, has been challenging — and still fun, but of a different sort.

Something I haven’t shared about is that I homeschooled my youngest son last year. In our school district (as is probably the case in yours), if a child is struggling academically, there are very few resources within the school system UNLESS he’s failing a core subject. Actual failure in a core subject reflects poorly on the school, so they attempt to make “accommodations” (less work, etc) for the child so that he can’t fail. But failure, when it is allowed to happen, is then an official reason to begin paperwork and a process (“request for intervention”) in which the school board can decide if the student requires academic testing to qualify for special services within the system. If a child is not allowed to fail a core subject, that process can’t start. We had two consecutive years of trying to request intervention in spite of his NOT failing a core subject, but were denied both times. This course of events, along with some other factors, in addition to following my instincts, led to our decision to homeschool him last year. It was the best decision we could have made for a broken-spirited boy. And now it’s time to go back to the previous school and begin third grade with a fresh reserve of coping skills, renewed confidence, additional mastery, and even some excitement about the prospects — for all of us. So I’ve tried to be fully engaged in both boys’ needs right now — and even the very grown-up Erica has needed her mom.

Parenting never really ends – it just evolves.

Fresh starts for them inspired me toward some of my own. I’ve been daydreaming about a professional closet organization (someday) and I know that Paul certainly has as well; although we need to do many home improvement projects, it is the closet overhaul that most excites him, so to that end, I’ve been trying to deal with the clutter (ahem, mostly mine) in the master bedroom closet. I’ve got a growing pile of clothes ready to go to Goodwill; I’ve also found several bags of yarn from my 2003 new-knitter stash — some full skeins, some partial skeins and a huge monster ball of kitchen cotton. They’re all headed to Goodwill. There’s a more recent bag of 100% wool that I won as a door prize – swatching with it never inspired any possibilities, so that’s going. Clothes that don’t fit – from twenty pounds ago – are going. I don’t know why I kept them! There’s an old Brother sewing machine that doesn’t work (but that has sentimental value), that’s probably not going to be given away, but likely stored in the attic. I still haven’t decided on that. One bite at a time, right?