Home to Public School - 41 days to go

If the count seems off it is because I thought they would start school on Tuesday 29 January but I found out the other day they start on the Wednesday.  I also found out that they are putting Jackson in to year 5 (he turns 11 at the beginning of the year) and Harrison into year 3 (he turns 8 at the beginning of the year).  I hope that doesn't cause issues for Harrison.  He is bright but his maturity may not match the others in his class with him having a February birthday, although... he is possibly more mature as he has older brothers to play with.  Hmm, don't know, will keep an eye on it all.

This a sort of out of order list of things that would bother me if they changed too drastically due to the boys being at school.  Again some things have more weight in my mind than others.

• They need to still be able spend valuable family time together eg dinner together as much as possible and free time on the weekends, not overtaken by school projects/homework.

• They need to be willing to play with each other and to still be understanding when their siblings are at different levels of skill and understanding.

• I won't tolerate name calling, or derogatory remarks about other's achievements or lack of skills.  I will be very firm on this as it is something that I have always had a zero tolerance for and if the school influence is so strong that I am constantly battling this issue it will be a big deal.

• I would like to hear that the boys treat each other well at school and do not get so influenced by peer pressure that they won't "play" with a sibling if they are lonely or struggling.

• I would like them to have friends that are willing to visit for playdates outside school hours.  If friendships are only at school I really don't see much difference to how our homeschooling experience in this small town is working out and I will re-evaluate the "value" of school for socialising.

• The boys need to be "allowed" to work at their own level with a bit of encouragement for improving.  I don't want to see them held back and getting bored or pushed so hard that they are not able to overcome the stress of working a little harder to achieve a better result.

• Our health has always been pretty good and I value it.  If more than 2 weeks are lost each term due to viruses going through the family then I will not be pleased.  Of course I know the first term could be rough, new environment and all that, and second not so good with change of season stuff, but by halfway through the year I would hope they are not coming home with a new bug every few weeks.  It would really be hard to be "sick" all the time, very tiring.

Love to hear your comments,
Jen