It's Friday! I had to meet with my daughter's facilitator for the charter school this morning, and finalize this year's paperwork and decide on courses for her junior year. I was elated to find out she will be able to attend the high school for chemistry and trigonometry in the fall. She has only been home schooled for the last 2 years, but she has grown leaps and bounds academically. I pulled her out of public school because she was bored and not being challenged enough in her GATE classes. I knew there would be a trade off socially, and it did worry me a bit. She had been active in cheerleading and school dances, etc. but when your home schooled the opportunities for these things goes away. She remained active in the church youth group and has some girls she is close to that are also home schooled, so it was nice to have the flexibility of sleep overs and trips to the mall during the day when it was convenient for us rather than on the weekends. She is volunteering to be a leader for the junior high youth group, and I am happy for her that she is choosing to be a mentor and take on a leadership role to kids in junior high. I'm definitely proud of the young woman she is becoming.
Long story short, pulling her out of public school was the right thing to do for her at the time. We couldn't afford private school and this seemed like a great option. Now, she is choosing to step back into the public school realm, at least partially this coming school year. Her senior year she wants to go full time, and I am fine with that. She is ahead of schedule with her credits, so she will not need to take a full course load then anyway.
I will say that being with her everyday has been a growth experience for both of us. She has had to interact with me on a different level and I admit I have enjoyed the one on one time with her. She is still at the age where she is forming her own identity and needing to pull back from my husband and myself. It's a normal part of growing up. I love when she hears something on the news and interjects her opinion on the subject. She is discovering who she is and what contribution she wants to make in the world. She is a blessing, and I am grateful I get to be her mom.