Acquara Independent School

We kind of go quarter to quarter, with a big yearly assessment and overhaul that happens every September. You have to figure out summer in April and Fall, well, kind of starts in April and doesn’t end until August.

Here is what I have for now:

Summer Camps:

Aaron-Zoo in June, Oral Hull in July, and OMSI Farm in late July

Naim-Oral Hull in July, OMSI Farm Camp in late July, AM Soccer and PM Acting Camp at NWCT (Star Trekkers)

Avery-Continuing Goddard all Summer, Zoo Camp in June, Oral Hull in July

This will be the fifth year that Aaron does Zoo Camp. Each year builds on other years and concentrates on specific areas. This year I think they are doing some kind of nocturnal thing so this camp includes a late night and dinner. It’s on my birthday so can a make a date out of that before pick up? hmmm. Avery went to 1/2 day Zoo camp and liked it last summer. This will be his first full-day camp. Naim and I have house cleaning/sorting plans this week while the As are away.

Oral Hull Foundation for the Blind Family Camp: We didn’t go last year and caught hell for it from the kids. They really like it and it is an easy way to get them out of town and let them run free. Avery will really be old enough this year to run free as well for the most part, so that will be fun. It is a bit of work for Nik and I, we usually do a class for the parents of blind kids, but the whole week is like one long education and counseling session for us. We are happy to do it, but it does get a bit draining (especially when we have to answer questions like how do blind people wipe themselves? yes, seriously.)

OMSI has given us a $400 scholarship so I am very happy about this. They will go up to a farm on Sauvie Island and learn about organics and environmental farming and a little cooking thrown in. I’m jealous.

Naim will do the PGE Park Timbers Camp in the am and then walk up to NWCT for acting camp in the afternoon. He gets an hour in between. He could SO TOTALLY do this himself as it is only about 5 blocks, but Nik will probably come from work and have lunch with him to help the transition, since Soccer will not release him to his own recognences.

Fall is a bag full of possibilities right now. In some ways, my Aaron/Naim isolation problem has been solved as now they are constantly out for hours with the neighborhood kids and I think it fills that peer gap for them pretty well. It may get worse in the Winter, but maybe then we are back to indoor playdates. I love shooing them outside.

So, in the grab bag of possibilities for Aaron and Naim are:

• Swallowtail Farm Mondays, A private farm school with an open-to-homeschoolers Monday component
• Some Combination of Village Home Classes
• Some Combination of Hillsboro Online Academy
• or….and this is a new, big one…Swallowtail School full-time four days a week. Essentially, they would be private school kids.

The reason I can even consider Swallowtail, a Waldorf program, is because it has an amazing sliding scale tuition program. I figured out that the cost would be about the same as what I am paying now for all their VH et al classes and curriculum. It would be a big step, but I have to get them on board and they are not quite yet. We go on our second visit this week. The Waldorf thing is good with me, but it is almost marrying into a new community. We have to still see how we all match up.

Curriculum-wise, if we stayed home, we would probably continue with Naim in Reading Discovery and Math in Focus. And Aaron with Voyages in English and Math in Focus. Those would be daily.  I am thinking about letting them plan the rest themselves within some parameters. (2 hours of SS/History, 2 Hours of Science, 1-2 hours of the arts, 5 half hours of physical fitness/sports a week.) Then they could fulfill these with HOA classes, VH classes, their own choice of curriculum, or stand alone projects like DIY.org or something. Naim and I are actually really enjoying a World History Timeline project we are doing now. He is making a timeline and I help him read with Calvert’s A Child’s Book of World History and the Usborne World History Encyclopedia along with other books and resources. Lots of fun, and poor Aaron has had to do PS Oregon History for like two years in a row now (and going on a 3rd  with more western expansion if he continues with HOA). How they think they can get away with teaching YEARS of pioneer/settler/western expansion history at the expense of all else is beyond me, but welcome to Oregon. Lets talk about a 200 year period of mass genocide and racism by your ancestors ad nauseum and make it out like it is all fun and good and Little House on the Prairie. Ugh. I got American History shoved down my throat growing up as well. And since Nik was educated in Europe, he completely laughs and my embarrassing lack of World History knowledge. I am having fun learning along with Naim as well. The timeline thing makes you put all the jumbled stories you have heard over the years in context and space and time.

Avery is pretty much staying home with me next year.  He is not, Not, NOT going to the 60+ kid Quatama classroom. I would consider Swallowtail for him this year but he would be waitlisted. He may do a combination of Farm School or Village. If it ends up being just him and me, I may put him in WeVillage for a day a week or something. We will see. I am thinking at home I will just do K Math in Focus and Reading for him. Maybe Calverts Discoveries in Reading or Hooked On Phonics or a combo. We also could get a little more structure in the day if I did something like Sunshine Express or Mother Goose Time, but that is a lot of curriculum. I plan on not killing myself over Kindergarten.

Stay tuned! Big decisions will be made soon!

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