Its that time of year again

We are starting to think about what we will be using for curriculum this school year. Our official school year runs from Labor Day until around Memorial Day. That's when attendance keeping takes place. We actually started planning this year back in May. We had a list of books all planned out, we just needed to order them. I'd wanted to get it all done early this year so we'd be up and ready to go the day after Labor Day.
Right.
We *erm* I can't find the piece of notebook paper that we so carefully planned everything out on. I don't remember what I had for dinner 3 days ago, let alone what we choose as school books for our children 3 months ago.

If only we could say, "Ok. Eric is a freshman this year, we'll just order the entire freshman package from Textbook Seller A." Well, maybe with Eric we could do that. He would hate it though. He'd look at that big ole stack of textbooks and he'd start snortin' and stompin' and prancing around like a nervous Thoroughbred being led into the starting gates at the Kentucky Derby.

Then we have Alex. Alex, who if we'd have stayed in the school system would be a sophomore this year, but who's test scores came back last year as a college freshman, almost sophomore. Alex, who technically could have already graduated but since his mother has no idea what she'd do with him and can't afford to buy him a car and send him off to college yet, will need to stay home and study here for another year or two. Alex, who would look at that big ole stack of textbooks and say "Lets go!", disappear into his room for a year and come out with all of them finished and stacks of notebooks with every question neatly answered and every test taken and filed.

And then there is Andy. The oldest. Sweet, sensitive, artistic, musical, dyslexic as all get out, Andy. Who could graduate after one semester this year 'cause all he's really lacking in is some writing skills. Andy, who runs screaming from anything that even faintly smells "educational" but who picked up violin 2 months ago and is now playing in an orchestra. Andy, who locks himself in his room for hours (HOURS) at a time and practices until his fingers almost bleed, not because he HAS to, but because he loves to. Not only does he practice, he's already trying his hand out at composing some of his own pieces.

Then there is the ex-math-teacher-husband who married the
mildly-dyslexic-free spirited-JohnHoltbeliever-
bullheaded-tooliberaltobeconservative-
tooconservativetobeliberal-woman-who -thinks-that-anything-that-we-come-up-with-on-our-own-
beats-anything-out-of-box-curriculum.
(except,maybe,for calculus.)

We'll argue.
I'll cry.
The kids will complain and whine.
Hubby will freak because he thinks we aren't doing enough.
I'll freak because I think I've ruined my children's lives.
We'll spend too much $ on textbooks that will collect dust in the corner while my children build rooms in the basement,compose music in their bedroom and build homemade chronographs in the hallway to measure the distance and velocity of the SuperSoaker water gun that Eric modified into a dart-shooting Nerf gun.

I just need to figure out how to get that onto their transcripts!
;)