Transitioning

Ok. I saw it coming. I avoided for a bit, then it hit. Homeschooling a teenager is definetly different than homeschooling the younger set.
I used to wonder why it was such a common trend for parents to homeschool elementary aged children and then once they hit middle school, they are thrown back in to the PS system. For me it was always the opposite. I figured if I were only going to choose one age in which I would keep them in a safe environment it would be that age.
As Seri has gotten older the resources we have for her are dwindling. The homeschool support system I am finding is mostly gear towards the elementary set. Other homeschooled friends are few and far between, unlike the plethora of little kids running around. I have had to look harder and drive farther away to find support for a homeschooled teenager.
Luckily, we have a good community and she is able to attend two classes this semester for teens in the TJED style of education. Lucky thing is, it's about five minutes away, there are children there who drive at least an hour to participate. She is taking Shakespear again and adding "key of liberty" which is a social science sort of class. They are studying the Constitution in depth this term.
There is also a Homeschooled teen group that meets once a month. We have to trravel an hour for that one, but again there are people who travel farther than that.
Lately she finds she has a ton of time on her hands and describes herself as "mentally bored". Her math, and shakespear are no longer cutting it. She does more academics than she realizes but I think we have taught our children to be in tune to their thirst for knowledge and now it has come back to bite me in the butt.

So, for awhile I have been wondering what to do about my "mentally bored child". It dawned on me the other night that one win-win situation would be to recruit her as my new preschool teacher. Win for me since Sariah will be getting that much desired time and attention, win for Sariah, win for Seri........ So far, so good.....Today she sat down with a few preschool activity books from the library and plotted out a lesson plan. The subject is Bees. They will sing the "I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee song", do a little bee finger play from the book, run and dance around the room acting like bumblebees to classical music, make bees out of construction paper and pom pom's for the antennae. After making this plan I asked her what she needed to have prepared for her lesson tomorrow and we discussed that this step was important because a two year old will not sit patiently while you get your act together. I think she will do great.
It begs to reason and got me thinking about whether she would be so mentally bored if she were in a ps highschool. That thought didn't last long. As I remember my days sitting in class and listen to the girls in the youth group I lead discuss their days at school I am comfortable that the answer would be yes. She would be just as mentally bored, or worse she wouldn't realize she was bored and would head for the socially active and mentally ignorant lifestyle that so many teens have today.
On another note one of the girls the other day told me that her favorite subject was PE. Now that is no surprise, that's been the age old favorite for as lon as I can remember, but what she said next caught me off guard. "Yeah, because we get to take naps". When I gave her my astonished "are you kidding me?" look, she went on to explain that they lay down matts and turn down the lights, play soft music and go to sleep until the bell rings. Wow, there is just so much wrong with that. Maybe these children wouldn't need to take naps if they were allowed to get an appropriate amount of sleep rather than burning the midnight oil to finish homework they procrastinated on and then getting up at 0'dark 30 to catch the bus. Maybe if the system found a way to be more efficient with their time the children could be home in time to take a nap and we wouldn't have to pay the teacher who is supervising them through this activity...... What a waste!!!! So glad my tax money is going to ensure that these teens are getting their naps!!!!!