School Registration Complete

In BC, homeschooled children need to be registered with an accredited school, and this must be completed by September 30. We heard back from her local public school this morning, and got everything finished by about 1:00. The school secretary has been working there for 10 years, yet Katerina is the very first homeschooled child she has ever registered for kindergarten.

Katerina started her "official" homeschooling on September 3. I prepare the lesson plans a day ahead, giving her a variety of subjects to cover each day. Morning is our P.E. time (physical education), then on to the reading and writing practice. Afternoons are arithmetic and science. She covers about 1 hour of academic work each day, then arts & crafts and other play pretty much fills up the rest of her time. So far Katerina says about school: "I don't like the writing part, but I LOVE the science experiments."

Difficulties Prior to Enrollment

Katerina's enrollment in kindergarten is still more than a year and a half away, but it's already becoming clear that the biggest challenge in home schooling is going to be with the responses and reactions of others.

Katerina's grandparents have repeatedly brought up the subject of her starting kindergarten, usually commenting on the parenting challenges involved with public and private schools. My wife and I hinted a few times that home-school was a possible option, and their responses were less-than-favorable.

The few close associates that we've told about our home schooling plans were quite supportive, with most saying that they wished they were in a position to be able to educate their own children at home.