Harder Than Watching a Movie

I've spent the last few days perusing the newest additions to my stack of 2010-2011 home school curriculum.  I've also spent untold hours reading forums, blogs, syllabi and websites that give information about homeschooling high school.  I've got a pretty good idea what I intend to cover with K13 for her ninth grade year.  I am even a tiny bit excited about getting started.

A few minutes ago my dad, who is visiting for a week, came upstairs to see why I wasn't with the rest of the family watching movies.  I explained that I was working on getting K13's high school stuff ready.  He said, "So you have to keep track of all that you do?"  
"No," I replied, "for the state, I only have to show an attendance record for 180 days of instruction if asked.  Now we are in high school so it's not the state I'm concerned with, it's the potential colleges."
"Oh," said Dad, "That sounds harder than watching a movie." 

Significantly harder.  I've watched lots of movies but I've never written a transcript or a syllabus.  Much less three syllabi.  I know all about objectives and rubrics.  I've been searching for examples that resonate with me.  Thankfully, I've found a few.  It's good to have a starting point.  A launching pad.  It's good to know that there are many who have traveled this road before and to benefit from their experience.  It's good to have proof that this can be done.

There's a talk I give my kids that I've been repeating over and over to myself recently.  Just because something is hard doesn't mean it's not worthwhile.  Sometimes hard things are also good things.  It's a good lesson because most people never learn it.  They get to something hard and give up.  Lots of things are hard. That doesn't mean we shouldn't do them.  It just means we'll have to put in more effort or more time, maybe both. It's a lesson I hope to teach my children and maybe, along the way, I'll learn it myself.


Homeschooling is hard. Homeschooling high school promises to be really hard. That doesn't mean it's not good. That just means we have to work harder. I have to work harder now and K13 will have to work harder when we get started next month.  It's going to be a challenge on a variety of levels.  I'm excited about some of those challenges and terrified of others.  The thing that I know to be true is that we can do this.  It may be hard but we can do this.