Well, I must say that homeschool has definitely been an adjustment! But we are sinking into the groove of it, and meeting some other cool homeschooling families in the area.

Au-Teen recently joined the South Florida Homeschool Key Club (a service-oriented social club). He says all the teens there are cool. He was SO RELIEVED to find others that “feel his pain”. lol (He’s referring to the solitude, which he finds nicer than dealing with standard public school hooligan issues, but is still new and different.)

We are signed up for some core classes through Florida Virtual School – FLVS. FLVS is a FREE, state-run online school in which students may study full-time or part-time. The students are assigned to a virtual class. The teachers are available for questions from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

I have subscribed to several local homeschool Yahoo! groups. I have learned about all types of social activities that the kids can participate in. They all have weekly or bi-monthly park days, field trips, etc.

We also went to a meeting, lecture, and ice cream social put on by the Broward Christian Homeschoolers (BCH) group. The Key Club volunteered to setup, conduct the ice cream and concessions sale/fundraiser, and clean up afterward. Au-Teen met another teen guy that had circumstances that were uncannily parallel to his own. So they really hit it off.

And the BEST part is that I’m now “required” to spend even more QUALITY time with my son. It’s so easy to get caught up in our own thing, while our teens are doing THEIR own thing. This is proving to be a beautiful opportunity for both of us! And it also legitimizes many of the otherwise mundane and seemingly “pointless” household chores… they count as “LIFE SKILLS” in school!

I will continue to post updates as we get even more plugged into this new and wonderful world of homeschool!

Please LEAVE A COMMENT about your experience (or exposure) to homeschool, or ways that you have connected with your teen.