Due to a quick series of events when I started working related to Jose's job, our commutes, the need for Turo to be somewhere while we worked, Turo started school with me. He wasn't slated to go to kindergarten, but we decided to try it out. He did pretty well for those first two months. Putting your child into one of the lowest performing schools in the state is an interesting experience. But I believed so strongly in what this school was trying to do that I knew Turo would be just fine. And he was. He made friends. Learned songs. Gained confidence. There probably should be another blog post just about the assumptions people make about "bad" schools.
He did great at school, but was melting down at home. For many reasons, he struggled after school and on weekends. These struggles were one of the reasons we decided that super long days were not working for this sweet boy.
So, for now, we are at home together. Rather than put him back in preschool, we've decided to experiment with a bit of homeschooling (which is something I never, ever imagined I'd be doing). Our school day is pretty informal. We do some reading & writing. Practice numbers. Read books (this month I've tried to incorporate Thanksgiving and Native American stories into our curriculum). Do some art. Play outside (Turo was very concerned about getting recess at this "new" school.) It's nice to have one pupil. Well, actually two since Turo insists that his dragon Pinecone Turo comes to school as well. I love sitting next to him at the dining room table and watch him discover a new sound or write a word. It's amazing being able to witness these tiny moments of knowledge building.
