Checking boxes Fall and Winter 2014

This might seem a strangely timed post--since we just got back from a big trip and you are expecting to see a post about that with pictures.  But look here--this is something I started to write back in February maybe, and forgot all about.  

Our second year of homeschooling highschool started in September, sort of, we usually have a slow breaking in period.  "School" consists of checking off the boxes I think we need to put things on a highschool transcript.  In other words, my homeschool mom anxiety about getting these kids into college is driving the agenda. Now, more than halfway through the year, I am dealing with my extreme discomfort in doing that--but more on that later.

So, after a summer of math a couple of times a week, we set off on our 10th grade work.  And it is work.

Teaching Textbooks Algebra II
Rosetta Stone Italian--re-started with a new focus to work on it throughout the week and see if they actually gain any actual Italian language skills this time.
Derrik Owens Physical Science
SCOOP (secular coop) High School Writing

Katie
Still writing every day, sketching sometimes, Girl Scouts

Zack
Parkour and D&D

Teen group Fridays, Co-op Thursdays, Park Day Tuesdays, when they happen and we feel like going

And the white board--all the work that needs to be checked off every week so mom doesn't have to nag as much as last year.

That's a lot of work and a lot of driving and not a lot of fun.
Now I don't think everything needs to be a bundle of laughs and my kids are far from despairing, but doing something hard and time consuming that you have no interest in and not having time to do things you are interested in is not exactly why we got into this homeschooling thing.
The kids had extremely little input into this line up.  That's not what I dreamed of either.

But off we went. Grinding our way forward. And it really hasn't been awful.  Just not interesting, engaging or done at all together, most of it being done on the computer.

Oh, and they took the PSATs in October.

Pete and I had a long discussion about this and it's a hard one to have.  I've de-schooled a lot more than he has, but we both still grew up with the grade school-middle school-high school-college path and expectation.  It's hard to break.  It's hard to give u checking off the things we think they need to get into college.  But now they are 16 and thinking of their own futures.  Sometimes with anticipation, sometimes with dread and a lot of other emotions depending on the day.  And I think how much better it will be to give them a chance to figure it out while they're still living here, bills paid, pressure fairly low, than doing it during the college years like I did. 

So--what does that look like?  I have no idea.  But I don't think it looks like this year did.