Well I think we have THE ONE. A close friend is visiting this weekend, so I will talk things over with her, and I have my sister-in-law from Texas visiting on Sunday and she is always a good one to bounce ideas off of as well, so after that I think we are ready to sign a contract and commit to a school. It is big $, but fortunately we received some financial aid, and we only have one kid, so we are able to swing it a bit better. (however I do daydream about other ways that I could spend the $, a couple of family vacations, a newer car, some savings, etc.)
Took the afternoon and drove around to see some home listings and neighborhoods. Didn't go into any homes, but checked out the neighborhoods. Since Attie is an only kid, as much as we would like a more rural setting, I think it is important to try to be in a neighborhood with other kids his age. Found one neighborhood today that I really liked that had a home for sale in our price range. It is for sale by owner, so I have to decide if it is better to call them on our own (and maybe keep the price down by them not having to pay a buyer's agent and thus passing on the savings to us) or to call in a buyer's agent that knows the ins and outs more than us. I think I'll sleep on this one. Only one big decision per day allowed. =)
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Schools
I think we are (finally) going to be in a good spot with the school situation, but it is still a daunting task - to choose the correct school (which leads to the right community) for Attie and our family.
Do we choose rural, suburban? Valley or west/south of Springfield? Private, public or home-school (but just for a bit, not long-term home schooling)?
It is in my heart that everything will work how it is suppose to work out - I'm just not 100% sure how that will be at this moment. And I probably won't know, even when we are in the middle of it. I just have to follow my gut and go from there.
When a kid visits a school and says, "please, please, please can I go to this school." Do you listen to him? Even if he hasn't met the teacher or seen the school work. Has just seen the awesome outdoor space and realizes how close nature is to him.
Nature was one of the tops on the list why we were moving. It wasn't to find a more academic school - the school that he was in was great - to be equal to what we had would be wonderful. Just writing these two sentences and putting them down on "paper" instead of sitting in my head has helped me lean towards one of the three schools over another one.
Now I think it will come down to location, location, location.
Bob wanted to move to be back in THE VALLEY. I put that in caps because I guess THE VALLEY is just that special. I haven't come to appreciate it fully yet myself, but everyone I speak with talks about how much they love it here, for those that have moved away everyone would love to move back at some point. So I guess if you have the opportunity to live in THE VALLEY, why go somewhere else?????
Of course a lot of the decision will also come down to $. Attie has been accepted to 3 schools. We need to wait to hear back on financial aid packages. That of course will be a huge factor. Also the type of house we can afford for each area.
I am just rambling along, but it is nice to put some thoughts down and to know that he is accepted to 3 private schools, so we have those options as well as plan c and d (Wilbraham public and homeschooling).
Time (and financial aid letters) will tell where we end up.....
Do we choose rural, suburban? Valley or west/south of Springfield? Private, public or home-school (but just for a bit, not long-term home schooling)?
It is in my heart that everything will work how it is suppose to work out - I'm just not 100% sure how that will be at this moment. And I probably won't know, even when we are in the middle of it. I just have to follow my gut and go from there.
When a kid visits a school and says, "please, please, please can I go to this school." Do you listen to him? Even if he hasn't met the teacher or seen the school work. Has just seen the awesome outdoor space and realizes how close nature is to him.
Nature was one of the tops on the list why we were moving. It wasn't to find a more academic school - the school that he was in was great - to be equal to what we had would be wonderful. Just writing these two sentences and putting them down on "paper" instead of sitting in my head has helped me lean towards one of the three schools over another one.
Now I think it will come down to location, location, location.
Bob wanted to move to be back in THE VALLEY. I put that in caps because I guess THE VALLEY is just that special. I haven't come to appreciate it fully yet myself, but everyone I speak with talks about how much they love it here, for those that have moved away everyone would love to move back at some point. So I guess if you have the opportunity to live in THE VALLEY, why go somewhere else?????
Of course a lot of the decision will also come down to $. Attie has been accepted to 3 schools. We need to wait to hear back on financial aid packages. That of course will be a huge factor. Also the type of house we can afford for each area.
I am just rambling along, but it is nice to put some thoughts down and to know that he is accepted to 3 private schools, so we have those options as well as plan c and d (Wilbraham public and homeschooling).
Time (and financial aid letters) will tell where we end up.....
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Getting Ready for Cub Scout Camp
Packing for Attie's first sleepaway camp - I'm not packing the good stuff. I'm having flashbacks to his first day at YMCA camp, where they went swimming.
He got in the car at the end of his first day and said he was thirsty - I asked where his water bottle was - "I don't know I lost it."
I looked at him in the backseat and noticed that he only had one sock one... "where is your other sock?"
His, reply - "I don't know I lost that too." And then with a huge smile on his face he said" ...and I'm going commando"
The boy lost his underwear sometime in changing into or out of his swimsuit.
That wasn't all there was. Every day was something else.
I wonder how many items will be lost at a week-long camp????
The great thing about his camp is that it is a sleep-away camp, but that parents can stay too and help with dinner and teeth brushing and then have the rest of the time to themselves. Since camp is now 2 1/2 hours away from where we are now living, I didn't feel comfortable having him that far away for his first time. So this will be the perfect situation. I'm bringing a book and the directions for the library so I can get some work done during the day.
It will be great for Atticus to be independent and do things on his own. I know that I/we do WAY too much for him, so it will be great that he gets to be at camp for a week and get some independence.
Best of luck to Attie's camp counselor. I am sure that it will be an interesting week. =)
He got in the car at the end of his first day and said he was thirsty - I asked where his water bottle was - "I don't know I lost it."
I looked at him in the backseat and noticed that he only had one sock one... "where is your other sock?"
His, reply - "I don't know I lost that too." And then with a huge smile on his face he said" ...and I'm going commando"
The boy lost his underwear sometime in changing into or out of his swimsuit.
That wasn't all there was. Every day was something else.
I wonder how many items will be lost at a week-long camp????
The great thing about his camp is that it is a sleep-away camp, but that parents can stay too and help with dinner and teeth brushing and then have the rest of the time to themselves. Since camp is now 2 1/2 hours away from where we are now living, I didn't feel comfortable having him that far away for his first time. So this will be the perfect situation. I'm bringing a book and the directions for the library so I can get some work done during the day.
It will be great for Atticus to be independent and do things on his own. I know that I/we do WAY too much for him, so it will be great that he gets to be at camp for a week and get some independence.
Best of luck to Attie's camp counselor. I am sure that it will be an interesting week. =)
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Holyoke
Well we are out in Western Mass officially now. We left Quincy on Tuesday morning and all of our items (except for one last car load at our neighbor Martha's home) out either with us in our rental home or at storage. I have to go to the storage unit to find some items. Bob says that it is so overloaded that I won't be able to access anything. I hope that isn't the case. I have a lot that I need to find.
Schools are still up in the air, therefore, home location is still up in the air. I have to get out one more application to a school in Amherst and we have an appointment with a school in CT next week.
This week I have been around the rental house most of the time, so haven't gotten a "feel" of the area yet. This weekend we are in Wilmington at the Lovine's for the 4th of July and then I have a dentist appointment on Monday in Boston, so won't be around the area again for a while. I think it will take me a while to adopt Western MA. I have a lot of commitments that are keeping me going back to the Quincy area, so even though we aren't living there, leaving is not so easy.
Schools are still up in the air, therefore, home location is still up in the air. I have to get out one more application to a school in Amherst and we have an appointment with a school in CT next week.
This week I have been around the rental house most of the time, so haven't gotten a "feel" of the area yet. This weekend we are in Wilmington at the Lovine's for the 4th of July and then I have a dentist appointment on Monday in Boston, so won't be around the area again for a while. I think it will take me a while to adopt Western MA. I have a lot of commitments that are keeping me going back to the Quincy area, so even though we aren't living there, leaving is not so easy.
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