KINDERGARTEN!!!

Shade started Kindergarten this year! The birthday deadline in Michigan is November 1st right now (last year was Dec 1st, next year will be Oct 1st, then the year after it will be up to Sept 1st like every other state), so he gets to start at age 4. But he is definitely academically ready.

Here's pictures of his first day:


But public school actually didn't last very long. I had a few issues with it (located at the bottom if you are interested). So I decided to try and homeschool Shade for Kindergarten. I was kind of nervous at first. I don't really have time to do my own curriculum and I didn't want to skip something important. But then we found an actual school online that lets you homeschool through them, so they still get the state credit for school, and use the same state curriculum. It was also free, so I decided to give it a try.

So far we both really enjoy it. I love still having Shade home with me, he likes spending time with mommy and Olive, and I make sure to include fun activities in and out of the house.

Also, Shade decided he wanted to do TBall again this season. It is so fun to see how much he has already improved and how much more he enjoys it since just a few months ago. But as you can see in the last picture, he still gets distracted by dirt... it must be fun to be 4!




Issues: My biggest problem with the Kindergarten here, is that it is now ALL-DAY at EVERY school (unless you go to a tuition-based school and pay like $6000). And the hours are not good. Since we start school later here than most states (the day after Labor Day), they have 7 hour school days. So that is Monday-Friday, 9-4:15pm, 7 hours per day/5 days per week for a 4 year old. And the worst part, they have the EXACT same curriculum that a school with half-days uses. So no, they don't really learn anything extra. They just have more recess.

Another issue I have is that Shade is a pretty smart kid. He took the Kindergarten pre-assessment math test (that shows what they will learn in Kindergarten), and he got 29/30. I am not saying he knows everything, I would just prefer to work with him on things he doesn't know or has a hard time with rather than waste time on things he already knows.

And finally, with me working 25 hrs on the weekends (with a 3 hr drive total), I would only get to see Shade a few hours each weekday after picking him up from school, mixed in with doing dinner, getting ready for bed, homework, etc, so I wouldn't get to spend much time with him. Call it my midlife crisis, but he is going to be in school all day every day for the next 14-20 years or so, so I just want one more year with him at home. So here's to a great school year!