IHIP

I have good news and bad news about my IHIP (Individualized Home Instruction Plan). NY State requires us to report what materials/curriculum we plan on using for each child for the year along with the dates we will file quarterly reports of our child's progress.

The bad news is that I haven't filed my IHIP yet...gasp! It was supposed to be received by August 15th and well, simply put, I forgot. I knew from another mom in my district that Wheatland-Chili is pretty relaxed and thought that they were going to send some paperwork out to me. Wrong. So it was the middle of the night on the 16th and I woke up in a panic because I'd just realized that I forgot to file the IHIP and I haven't received anything from my district! By the way, they never responded to my Letter of Intent either...and I was super anxious about that.

The good news is that I talked to my contact person at the school. When I asked about the August 15th date, she said, "Oh, we don't really care." PHEW! I am writing my IHIP today and then all will be well as long as the curriculum complies with first grade requirements.

I am a lot more relaxed about this whole process since talking with my contact person at the school. In fact, I think she lives on my street...

Letter of Intent

We've sent our "letter of intent" to the school district to inform them of our plans to homeschool for this coming school year. Not a hard letter to write...just one sentence basically repeating what I said above...but nerve racking for me. I get nervous and anxious when doing new things for the first time. I spell checked the letter about 5 times just to be sure I wasn't giving a bad first impression with misspelled words. I re-read the letter about 10 times. I made my husband read it. I looked up the school address 3 times and the superintendant's name 3 times as well. I sent the letter certified mail as recommended and clarified all the merits of certified mail with the postal clerk...twice. All this and I basically copied the sentence word for word from a new homeschoolers packet provided by my homeschool support group...at their suggestion. I think I've got all the bases covered...very well. And yet...I'm nervous. Anxious. Waiting for a response. 10 days.

Successful

Hooray for the boost of confidence standardized testing has provided me! PHEW! We received the results of Elijah's exams measuring Language Arts and Math (IOWA Tests of Basic Skills - Advanced Kindergarten level). He did exceptionally well. Honestly, testing was really about me this year and finding proof that I can do this. To have proof in hand that I am not delusional about the progress we made this year is a huge encouragement to me. It makes my heart just about burst to know that Eli's learning occurred under my instruction! Watching him learn to read this past year was as exciting as those first steps and first baby words. I am so blessed to be the one witnessing this monumental and crucial step in his education!

Lest you think I am taking ALL the credit...Elijah is a fast learner and eager to show what he knows. He enjoys his workbooks and teaching letters and sounds to Luke. He loves playing learning games and sorting through flashcards. He keeps his chunky notebook close by to write things down (words or numbers) when ever the mood strikes. He loves counting...today, he surprised me by saying he thought he knew how to count to 1,000 (by 100's) and he did! He always loves our challenge game - "I bet you can't spell _____" followed by "Okay, you knew that one, but this is even harder...I bet you can't add 7 + 5!" and so on.

I am grateful for this year of homeschooling. I have never been this intentional with my time and purpose with the boys, but it has proved to be the best choice for our family. I know my children better than before and have deepened our relationships. I know myself better than ever - the good and the bad. Praise the Lord, he's working in my heart! I have enjoyed my children more than ever, ever, EVER...and I can only pray that the future will be just as successful. It's not simply about academics, though. By the state education standards, we were quite successful this year. But that isn't how I ultimately measure our success. It's about doing what's best for our children desiring to please God above all else and challenging them to strive for the same.