Foofee's Zoo

Where do I start?

Here I sit, not sure where to start.  I am a SAHM of 4 children, 3 of whom are mine by birth, the 4th as a gift from a family in Italy.  I also have a husband, 4 cats, 2 dogs and 3 fish.

My oldest child is Dave.  He is almost 17.  He is a great kid, most of the time, but he is a teenage boy and an artist!  'Nuff said!  My 2nd child is Katy.  She's 13.  That takes care of that!  She's an artist too.  My 3rd child is Clemmie.  She is 10.  Clemmie is why I am homeschooling, again. 

Dave was homeschooled for a bit.  He had some difficulties in public school, so I homeschooled him until we placed him in private.  That has been a good move for him.  Dave decided that Katy wasn't going to the junior high where he had trouble, and offered to get a job to pay for his own tuition in private so Katy could attend as well.  We didn't make Dave get a job, and Katy started in private in junior high (7th grade).  Both of them love the school.  It is a pre-K thru 12th school. 

We decided to put Clemmie there this year for 4th grade.  Bad idea.  Bad, bad, bad idea.  It has not worked for her, not at all.  We finally gave up trying to send her to school all day, and teach her in the evening and just let things slide the last part of this semester.  Clemmie has some learning differences and this school didn't work with her as they should have.  Together, Clemmie and I have decided that homeschooling over the summer is the best option for her.  Clemmie doesn't realize that this will continue into the next school year, but we'll cross that bridge later.  It's not a battle I choose to fight right now. 

Clemmie is not a good reader, but she can read the Latin lyrics for her opera solos!  She is a budding opera singer, taking private voice coaching 3 times per week.  She is also a dancer and a drama queen.  That figures, she's the Bonus Baby! 

Now for the 4th child.  He came to us as an exchange student with the AFS program.  We weren't his first family, that family decided to move and left him without a host family.  We took him as a temporary family, and he stayed!  He plans on coming back here for the next school year, finishing high school, graduating and going to an American university.

I am not sure what I have gotten myself into, but I know it is the best choice for all my kids.