Back to school and back on track...

It seems strange to be writing this now, since the kids' first quarter of school is done and they are starting fall break tomorrow. But, it works to post their First Day of School pictures and update how their first quarter has gone.

Hayden and McKenna started school on August 2nd this year. We re-used backpacks and mostly have the same clothes as all summer...check that...all year long. This is Hayden's last year in elementary school, 6th grade. And, McKenna started 1st grade.

We transferred Sabrina to a hybrid format charter school. It is an online K12 program, but she has face-to-face classes for each of her core classes once a week. She has her own teachers, which makes my role a "learning coach" to keep her on track. My friend also has her daughter in a different, but similar format school, so we spent our first day going out for pastry.

I have the most precious scrapbook page of Sabrina's before and after pictures on the first day of school in first grade. She walked out the door in school-girl perfection and came back with hair a mess, shirt untucked, and even a huge gaping hole in her tights. McKenna is a lot like her big sister. Plus she came home tired. So, this is the best picture I got...the others were of her backside as she cried on the stairs... But, Hayden came home and set right to work...setting up to work on his homework right away, even with his friend. Not like when I was a kid...when I did more talking with the friends than work. He's started a good pattern that has kept him excelling all quarter. He's a responsible, smart kid, top of his class. Thank goodness for that!

I say that, because this quarter has not gone as planned in other areas. Last year, I worked out several times a week...had lots of peace and quiet, stuff done around the house, and fun with friends. I tried to get back into that pattern for a couple of weeks, letting Sabrina work at her pace, keeping track that she was getting lessons done. I thought she'd get done with her schoolwork early, and we could do things together.

But, a couple of weeks in, I realized she wasn't doing too well on tests. So, I started watching her work. I found that although she worked slow, she was doing well on quizzes. It took me a bit of study and investigation to realize she doesn't know how to study. She also hasn't learned how to take notes.

So, for the next 2 weeks, I sat next to her while she was doing her lessons, helping her study for her tests, proof-reading her work before submitting, and double-checking her work. I even went lesson by lesson through some of her classes. We have been staying up to 10pm, midnight on weekends, doing work. Her grades had all come up 1-2 letter grades, but I was exhausted.

I couldn't keep it up, so this past week I backed off. Pushing her through the lessons, but not re-creating the wheel when it came to studying. One of the biggest challenges has been having to familiarize myself with the material again after 25 years. I was directed to sample questions in the mentor guides to help her study. This worked much better, and I think we're in a place now where we're not playing so much catch up. We plan to use this school break this week to get ahead a few lessons.

Other than that, although she was sad that she wouldn't be going to a regular high school, she's making friends and enjoying where she's at. She's in the Glee club, attending early, early morning seminary (5:50am!) and loving it, and her blood sugars have been so much better at home.

Next quarter we'll have the holiday programs and parties to look forward to. I know this year will fly by, and my babies will be a year older and one year closer to pushing me out of a job. I'm trying to re-focus, not get too stressed out, and enjoy it before it's gone.