Homeschool Rally

Last night was the fall rally for our homeschool group.  I went to a break out session about how to get your kids to love learning.  The speaker had a lot of good ideas but she had 11 kids, bingo just isn't the same with two kids. 

After the speakers, you could choose from two different ones, there was a huge book sale and sub groups had tables to promote their programs.  There was a lot of energy in the room and moms were snapping up fun, and some not so fun, looking curriculum and talking about how they are excited to get a head start on school and start next week.  I don't think the regular schools around here even start until September 7th. 

We did sign Spark up for soccer and order him a t-shirt.  Our group has a large group of families that play soccer on Saturday mornings until the snow flies.  We haven't taken part in it since Dancer was in kindergarten because, one she was more interested in looking for four leaf clovers on the soccer field and two, we have been utilizing the YMCA program.  This year the YMCA, which only wants to be called the Y now, shortened each of their sessions by two weeks and upped the price by 30 percent.  Hmm, soccer for free or the new Y program, pretty much a no brainer there.   Dancer didn't want to play so we didn't sign her up.  On the way home I mentioned that I talked to one of her friends mom and her friend is playing soccer so now she wants to play.  Go figure.

There was also a table to sign up if we were interested in Irish dance.  If they get enough interest a performing arts place is going to try and find a teacher to come up from the cities.  While Irish dance isn't a passion for Dancer at least she would be dancing again and it wouldn't include jazz or ballet.  She suffers through the jazz and ballet parts of class to be able to tap dance which is her passion.

Other than those two things I walked around and talked with lots of people I haven't seen for a while and felt like a great big fraud, which I did admit to a few good friends last night.  See, I am just not feeling any back to school excitement.  I feel like I need a summer vacation from summer vacation.  The calendar, which has been full almost every day since the beginning of summer, only has nine things on it between now and September 7th so maybe, just maybe, we will be more in the mood for school.  If not, we aren't going to do more than the math that we do all summer.  Sometimes I enjoy being counter cultural just because I can.  When people try to talk me into things I tell them, "Your peer pressure has no effect on me."  Well, I tell friends that, to others I give the unsnarky polite "no," a word I have learned to use and not feel guilty about.

So it will probably be state parks, bike trails, unbusy tourist attraction field trips - here we come!  October is still up in the air too.