So far, each of Caleb's formal school years have looked a little different. We solely home schooled for kindergarten and then last year, started him at a charter school which ended in disaster but ultimately led us to Fresno Christian. (You can read this post if you missed that debacle). He had a great year and we loved having him there. But, there was one issue that remained heavy on our hearts. Because of the nature of John's business, he works late afternoons and evenings. Last year, his schedule allowed him to pick Caleb up at school and spend about an hour with him most afternoons. This year, though, that was not going to be possible. Caleb being in full day 2nd grade at Fresno Christian was going to mean that his daddy would drop him off at school in the morning and they wouldn't get to see each other again until the next morning.
The hardest part of the dilemma was that my heart and John's were in different places. All I could see was how much Caleb had thrived last year and so badly wanted him to have a full year, start to finish, in the same place again. I wanted to try to shift around our morning schedule so they could have some quality time together in the mornings and make weekend time more intentional. But, that wasn't going to work for my man. He was wanting to homeschool full time again. I'm not going to lie....I didn't want to. I wasn't prepared to homeschool and felt like I couldn't do it well with our schedules and Noah's needs. I was digging my heels in and so was hubby. Not a pretty scenario. After many tears, lots of conversations and prayers, this is what I found out: unbeknownst to me, Caleb and John had had a heart-wrenching conversation on the last day of first grade. Caleb told him how much he loved school but that he had really, really missed his daddy. *yikes* And this year, there would be even less time for him to spend with daddy. A.lot.less. Once my heart was opened to what the real issue was and I truly understood where my hubby was coming from, I knew we had to figure something out.
Then, we found out that, once again, we could do things a little differently. Fresno Christian has allowed several families in the past to do half school based learning and half home school. Well, it actually works out to be more like 70/30. Only a few days before school started (because we are lame like that), John went to the office and got it all sorted out. Caleb would go to school for the morning and come home after lunch and do his afternoon work at home. With his daddy. Win-win!!! Caleb gets all his reading, writing and math (which is by far his favorite subject) in the classroom, has lunch and recess with his classmates and then comes home to do social studies and science before John goes to work. It took a couple weeks to get into a good rhythm but we're getting it all worked out and he is doing really well!
I was again humbled to realize that my plans are not always the best and that it continues to be our responsibility (and right) as parents of our children to evaluate what the best method of education is for each child each year. And once I quit ignoring my husband (and the Lord, for that matter), I was able to see that Caleb really gets the best of both worlds this way. He is still experiencing the school year start to finish in the same place AND gets to spend at least 2 hours of quality time with his dad each day. Let me just say, my husband is pretty stinkin' amazing when it comes to his passion for being involved in raising his boys into men. And, I'm really proud of him for having the courage and leadership he showed in changing the plans for this year when this red-headed wife of his isn't being very cooperative. Again, so humbled. And so excited for another great year of schooling for our boy!
