Haley has a new harp instructor. The wonderful thing is, she comes to the house. So Haley can learn to play on HER own harp, and take care of her harp. This young woman is super sweet, and was homeschooled herself, locally. So it feels like a much better "fit."
In the spirit of "keeping it easy" so we can fully engage in the home-education without feeling frazzeled as things (expectedly) pick up in August with the part-time school for the older 2, and public kindergarten for Hana - we switched Ian from a kung-fu/karate studio way across town (45 minute drive) to one within the city (10 minute drive). Class is slightly shorter (45 minutes vs. 1 hour) so the amount of time-resource that is utilized on this activity has diminished from 3+ hours, to 1 hour and 10 minutes!! And the new guy came highly recommended by colleagues. As an added bonus, there are a few local Jack and Jill friends in his studio as well. The fact that the head-guy is African American is a benefit as well as it allows Ian to interact with a diverse educational "team."
This studio is new and wasn't an option when I first started my search. Nonetheless, it is not purely kung-fu, which we actually preferred. However, the Universe has led us to karate (mixed martial arts minus tae kwondo) so we're happy to give it a try.
We have considered letting Haley take Karate/kung-fu. However, currently her schedule is full. And she likes her "free time." It's important to not over-schedule the children, so we'll wait and see how school (and homeschooling) goes.
Likewise, we'll wait until early next year to put Hana in swim lessons because she's advancing to 2 day a week pre-team gymnastics AND will have public kindergarten everyday.
On the other hand, Ian could use a few additional activities (or at least one more). But we will see how school goes, and seek out opportunities as he expresses interest (rather than sign him up for random 'stuff' just so we feel like 'things are equal.' Because equality isn't our goal. Providing to each child exactly what THEY need, individually, is the goal. And that may not be what seems 'equal.'
Haley and Ian have completed their summer Art Camps with a home Art Show. They made sculptures, beads, learned about arts around the world. They painted, and drew. They used materials, and the group was only 6 children. They had a blast. And the great thing was...the art teacher is going to be Ian's 2nd grade teacher. So they had a chance to bond in a fun, informal setting.
The kids are quite comfortable on the horse - which is outstanding. It is our goal to get them horseriding-competent (being from Texas and all). Soon they trot. They are SO excited.
And Speech/Debate camp. I am looking to continue this for Haley, however its not easy finding Debate teams for 11 year olds. So far there's on that seems great, but it's way way across town. I know better than to take that bait......so our search continues.
Of note: We did not get to do formal photography lessons. Nor did we do IT (because I couldn't find a local instructor that worked with young children. Ditto with American Sign Language (for a reasonable fee). My preference is actually to utilize someone who isn't deaf, and that course was offered through a local homeschool center for quite a hefty price. Resources better spent for summertime fun went to art camp. And finally, music camp was canceled. Which was okay because Haley continued her piano and harp privately nonetheless.
