Ugly Homeschoolers

I have to say that today I saw the ugly side of homeschooling. We had a program at the library today for the summer reading program. My kids always look forward to going because they get to get new books, they get to see their friends, and they have fun playing the games. There is a family there, though, that makes it difficult to have a good time. The boy is about 12 or 13, and he is a great big bully. He shoved my #2 son out of the way when he went to pick up a blanket the librarian asked him to get. I looked at the librarian and asked her what that kind of behavior was all about. She said that she has had other problems with that kid and would have to talk to the parents. I said to a girl whose mom I know, "This is why we homeschool." She said, "Oh, they are homeschooled, too." Now I know, for sure, that not all homeschooled kids are sweet and nice. The girl of this family is around 10, and I watched her drag a kid to the ground and skin his knee. That kid actually had the guts to tell the mother that her daughter accidentally pulled him down. I was nursing Henry and I wanted to yell, "It wasn't an accident, and you know it, B!" I am hoping the librarian will tell this family that if they cannot control their kids' behavior in public that they shouldn't come to the reading program.

What makes all of this really awful, in my view, is that they are supposedly a deeply religious family. They have a JESUS front plate on their van and everything. I think they should reflect on their behavior, in light of the teachings of Jesus, to see if they really are as Christian as they think they are. Super religious people who act like barbarians drive me crazy. They in no way practice what they preach. For some reason, they think that they have some sort of license to behave any way they want because they pray, or whatever. God is probable rolling his eyes right now.

I did get good news regarding Noah's homeschooling. I can do whatever I want with him, without having to have him evaluated by a school psychologist or a special education teacher. I will make his objectives based on a first grade curriculum and see how far we get. If he completes that by December or January, I will just submit new ones to the school for second grade work. He is doing so well with his reading. We read a book this morning while I was feeding Henry, and he needed very little help. I am just so amazed. I am going to put words on index cards so that he can put sentences together. That will help him learn how to construct a sentence without having to worry about writing it. We will work on writing, of course, but that is going to be a long hard row to hoe.

I must go knit. I have had a very long day, and I need to do some serious unwinding!