Today's our first day of homeschooling (formally) for the 2003-2004 school year.

My daughter went to public highschool... not my choice for her but I am determined to allow my children to make their own educational choices. Peer pressure caused her to return to the school scene last year. I will refrain from telling you how badly I feel about that.

My son has had his share of peer pressure, but resists it every time. He has a mind of his own and definitely prefers homeschooling because he doesn't want to be around a lot of other children every day. He had his fill of that in kindergarten for four months and has never wanted to go back.

So here we are, planning another school year. Because Aaron is 13 this year I'm letting him choose what to do in some of the subjects we're covering. Our state law mandates what courses to offer, but gives some leeway on how to cover them.

For example, here's what it says about offering social studies:

Social sciences, drawing upon the disciplines of anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, and sociology, designed to fit the maturity of the pupils. Instruction shall provide a foundation for understanding the history, resources, development, and government of California and the United States of America; instruction in our American legal system, the operation of the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems, and the rights and duties of citizens under the criminal and civil law and the State and Federal Constitutions; the development of the American economic system, including the role of the entrepreneur and labor; the relations of persons to their human and natural environment; eastern and western cultures and civilizations; human rights issues, with particular attention to the study of the inhumanity of genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust, and contemporary issues.

Today we're going to read over the law and I'll let Aaron make as many choices as possible.
  ¶ 8:51 AM