John, Laura and kids

It seems ironic that since deciding to move to Utah for John to pursue a higher education, I have been contemplating taking my children out of public school and teaching them at home.

There are several reasons for this. From the research I have done, the elementary schools in and around Provo prove to be average at best. The student/teacher ratio is around 28 to 1. I don't know how even the best of teachers can be expected to properly teach that many children. I really want learning to be an exciting thing for Brian and Caitlyn so I feel like the public schools are not an option.

I looked into Charter schools in the area and found a few that looked to be great schools. However, I had missed the lottery application deadline for all but 2 - one in Draper and one in Springville. The school in Draper notified us quickly that neither of the children were chosen through the lottery. Because of the unlikeliness of them getting into the school in Springville, I assumed that if the got in that would be our answer,that would be where they should go to school.

On Saturday I received an email telling me that Caitlyn had been accepted to the Kindergarten program at Reagan Academy and Brian would be put on a priority wait list. Immediately I felt unease instead of the excitement I thought I would feel. Just after reading that email I watched General Conference. It seemed most of the talks in that particular session were about teaching children in the home. Coincidence?

The following day I continued to mentally go through the pros and cons of homeschooling. I realized that if we were to put Caitlyn in school her schedule would not coincide with John's. Normally this would not be a big deal. But, John will most likely have an internship in the summer that will take him outside of Utah. If Caitlyn is in school we will have to be separated from John for 6 weeks. This was another push toward homeschooling.

While I recognize that there would be many benefits to having Brian and Caitlyn in public school, I have prayed about and feel strongly that they need to be taught at home next year. Who knows if this will be long term or if it will just be for the 2 years that we are in Utah.

I am excited for the extra time it will afford us as a family and for the added experiences it will give to Brian and Caitlyn. I am excited to be able to taylor fit their schooling to their individual needs. Even though I am not yet sure how this will all work out, I am confident that Heavenly Father will continue to direct our path.