Unbelievable

which is to say even I don't believe this and yet...'tis true. Seriously: sit down for this.

We've taken TOT out of her public school pending resolution of complaints we have regarding accommodation of her diabetes related academic needs. Situation is getting ugly, we know that we'll never be comfortable with her there under the current leadership so whatever may come of our official (and copious) complaints, she will never attend school there again. We've asked for her to be placed in the other elementary school that serves our community (Thing 1 and Thing 2 attended there before it became overcrowded and they split the boundary and built this new school). But until we know how our request will be resolved--what are we doing?

Frack. I'm home-schooling her.

I KNOW. I can hear you bristle, see you make that lolo gesture with your finger by the side of your skull...and really, why wouldn't you?

We talked a lot about this issue and the possibility of this solution last year when the school wasn't responding as we wished to her needs and my husband was keen to pull her out but I was not so keen to be a teacher, much less a teacher of my own daughter in my house. Its something of a statement that taking this route now is the very best of our limited options.

In our home county, a family that elects to home school must either submit to portfolio reviews of the curriculum being used or hitch their wagon to a state-certified home schooling program; most of those organizations are church based and cater to a curriculum that is much heavier in religious content than we could tolerate. Luckily, for less than a thousand dollars we found a GREAT, sincerely great, curriculum and all associated lesson plans and materials. Classroom in a box.

It has been WONDERFUL so far. The materials are fantastic and although I always have a lot of previewing to do to prepare a day's lessons we are doing so well and really enjoying it. A "school day" is mostly about 4.5 or 5 hours with only one student and a rookie teacher so we're able to accommodate the ups and downs of her blood glucose levels and the challenges they bring to concentration with breaks and distractions---and overall, its just a lot less difficult for her in terms of the time demand and the one-on-one interaction.

Its kind of like playing school but with really cool props. And its a huge relief from the constant struggles we were having with the Administration at her school.

I wouldn't want to point out in such an upbeat post about the timing being kinda challenging for initiating this effort.... life does keep rolling on, doesn't it? And let us not forget this: being a parent will lead you into positions you never imagined.