made for more

It's that time of year again. The time of year where the Boss man heads back to work, big yellow buses begin to roll by, and children everywhere head back to the classroom. Unless you are one of my crew. And then you stay home.

When Boss and I first made the decision to home educate (over four years ago, now), we knew there would be things we would be asking our children to 'give up'. The special first day of school excitement, the holiday classroom parties, skipping with a best friend to the playground after lunch, and the general feeling of goodness that comes with being a part of something that is larger than yourself. And sometimes when I think about it for too long, even four years later, I still get sad that my children are not a part of those things. I worry we have scarred them in some way by keeping them from the traditional American way of life.

But then I am reminded.

Deep in my heart I am reminded that my children were made for more than this world. They were put here for a purpose, to embrace their calling as a Christ follower should they choose to give Him their lives, to fulfill the plans that God has for them. Plans that include knowing God more and more each day and pointing others to Him on their journey. My children were not put here to get caught up in all of the current cultural trends, to be swept along with the world as it spins madly around and around again. And for all that my children have had to 'give up', there is one thing that they have gotten to keep. Each other. Our family does life together. Every single day, all day. The good, the bad, and the ugly of it. And that is what I love most about this journey of home education. I love that we do it together.

I know there are those who do not believe home education is for them. And personally, I am good with that. We all have different stories, different heart stirrings, and I believe if we are committing our ways to the Father he will guide us in the direction we should go. But for us, homeschooling provides the hope that we can hang on to our children's fragile hearts. For us, homeschooling allows us the day in and day out opportunity to mold the little people God has blessed us with into men and women of big faith. Soon enough our children will fly the nest and our steadfast prayer is that they will fly stronger and more assuredly because of their years spent in our home.

This year our focus is books, books, books. We will squeeze core work in, too, but the majority of our time will be spent with our noses in the cover of a good book. I want my girls to read solid stories about ordinary people who turned their lives over to an extraordinary God. I want them to see that God has had a plan all along. For his creation, for the people that lived in Bible times, for the country that we live in today. And I want my daughters to be inspired, to know that God has a plan for them, too. We will read about Christopher Columbus and Anne Frank. George Washington and Helen Keller. We will see how God continually uses faithful people to fulfill His purposes time and again and really, is there a greater lesson that my children could ever learn? I don't think so, and I am excited to see where this year will take us.

I don't know where you are in the story of your own life, but I want to dare you to dream BIG. To hand the writing of your story over to the very Author who created you in the first place. It is our prayer and the focus of our family this school year. The constant handing over of the pen, and then handing it over once again. And who knows? The beautiful chapter that we (you) have been longing for might only be but a page away.

On Faith, Family, and Flat Stanley

 

I am kind of in love with our home school community. Okay. I am really in love with it.

Tonight, my oldest daughter was in the musical that she has been practicing for all year. Flat Stanley. My oldest daughter is a lot like me. Her diva comes out at home and in small settings where she feels comfortable and confident. But in a large crowd she is content to simply be part of the group. She loves showing up, working hard, having fun, and being involved. That is enough for her. She has yet to try out for a major role in a play, always happy to be in the background. Maybe someday she will try for more. Maybe not. Either way, she shines.

The play was cute. My daughter did have one dance scene that she has worked really hard on and tonight she rocked it. Her diva came out for the crowd for two whole minutes. But the play was not my favorite part of the evening. My favorite part of the evening was sitting in the church sanctuary with more than one hundred other like minded people. Every time we gather together as a home school community I get chills. And I feel so thankful and blessed for this community we have chosen to be a part of.

Here's the thing. I believe there are a million different ways to do life right (as long as you are walking with Christ). There is not a one size fits all method. God made each of us different. Unique. With different callings and different paths. And this is our path. The one we have chosen and feel so humbled to be walking down.

Sometimes I think homeschooling gets a bad rap. A few weeks ago, I was even called 'silly' (by a woman I respect and admire) for the choice Boss and I have made in educating our children. I hear all of the time that home schooled children are too sheltered. Unsocialized. That when faced with peer pressure or difficult choices in the future, home schooled children will crumble. Or rebel. And that parents who keep their children at home are not preparing them for the real world.

But I have to wonder, what real world am I to be preparing my children for? Because if I am preparing them to climb corporate ladders, to chase the world's standard of success, then I am okay with not preparing them for that. I would rather my children walk in the opposite direction. And it's true. My children could crumble one day. And they might rebel. Again, there is no one size fits all method. If homeschooling was sure to guarantee safety and success, I believe all parents who love their children would do so! Only there is no guarantee. But my hope and my prayer is that by being truly grounded, in both God's Word and in our family, that my children won't crumble when times get tough. That they would be rooted enough in family and faith to stand strong. And as far as being unsocialized goes, I suppose that depends on your definition of what type of socialization is important. Because it's true. My children are not surrounded by peers their own age day in and day out. But instead they are surrounded by a variety of ages and I love that! My daughters have friends who range in age from three to sixteen and they truly consider each one of them, no matter their age, a friend. It's kind of beautiful. And I don't think Boss and I are silly for sheltering our children. In fact, I am happy to do so. The real world comes at each of us eventually. And I am thankful that for just a little while my little ones hearts can be light. The heavy will come soon enough.

Homeschooling was not in our original plan. And had we chosen a different route it would not have meant we loved our kids less. Or more. It simply would have been different. And I have no doubt that no matter the route I would have done my best to be the best mama I could be. But I am thankful for this route. This path. This journey. And I am thankful that we are able to travel it together. As a family. And on nights like tonight, I am most thankful for the like minded community that surrounds and encourages us as we seek to raise our children to be disciples for Christ.

Yes. I am kind of in love with our home school community. Okay. I am really in love with it.


(image by Denise Owens Photography)

My Castle in the Air

(Two of My Children, for Whom the Castle is Being Built)

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them. - Henry David Thoreau

When you choose to live life a bit differently than the rest of the world, sometimes that life can be lonely. Some days it feels as though it would just be easier to choose the broad road, to walk along with the rest of the world, to blend in a bit more.

We began homeschooling our children four years ago.

Homeschooling wasn't something that we set out to do. In fact, it sort of found us when we weren't even looking for it. At the time our oldest child was to begin Kindergarten, I was working a 'job' that required most of the afternoon and evening hours of my day. I knew that if I put my tiny one on the bus, she would arrive home each afternoon right when my 'job' was to begin. When would I help her with homework? When would we snuggle? When would she have my undivided attention? So our homeschooling journey began.

And somewhere along the way, our family fell in LOVE with it.

I LOVE that I am the main influence in my children's lives.
I LOVE that my children are each other's greatest friends.
I LOVE that I am in charge of what goes into my children's heads and hearts.
I LOVE that my children are relaxed, without the weight of the world pulling at them.
I LOVE that my children are free to be children.
I LOVE that I can teach my children about God, just as I can teach them how to read.
I LOVE that for my children, family comes first and friendships are second.
I LOVE that my children can learn real life skills, just as they can learn academics.

So many things to LOVE. And now I can't imagine schooling my children any other way.

Until I lose focus, and my eyes start drifting towards another's path. I see women dropping their children off at a school building before heading to the gym and think that would be nice (except for the gym part). I see women heading to jobs where sometimes they simply earn 'fun' money for themselves and think fun money would be nice. I see women sitting quietly at Panera Bread, sipping a latte, while reading their Bible (all while I am cleaning up spilled milk, spooning soup into little mouths, and trying to train three children how to be quiet and appropriately behaved in a restaurant) and think ahhh, quiet sounds nice. I see women who have time to devote themselves to their passions or hobbies and think what's a hobby? I think no differently of these women who have chosen to do life differently than I have, as we each have the right to choose our own path, but sometimes looking at another's path begins to make me doubt my own.

But then I remember. I began building a castle in the air a long time ago. Long before Boss was by my side. And in my castle there were many children, family unity, a strong faith, a full table. A bond so strong that nothing could break through the castle walls. And I know full well that I am right where I should be. And these years of constant training, and children all at home, and the teaching and the learning are all part of the foundation of my castle in the air.

We are on the right path. Even on the lonely days, the days where being different feels too heavy, we are still building. Working towards something greater. Building, together, the very castle that I have always dreamed of.

First Day

First Grade Kate

Sweet Sisters!

Emma



Kate's New Kicks



Let the New School Year Begin!










Back to School Bling

Kate and Emma

 

Today the girls and I went shopping for a new outfit for the first day of HELP (our local homeschool organization). Classes start back up next week, and we all figured that a little bling and sparkle were in order. We started our morning out by dropping little brother off with Grammy, because shopping with a boy of any age is not fun, but it is especially not fun if the little boy is two. Don't believe me? Feel free to borrow Jack anytime and see for yourself! Ha!

After Jack had departed, we rolled down our windows, turned up our Kids Bop CD, and turned our car towards the shops. Our first stop was Once Upon a Child (our favorite children's resale clothing store). Both girls found snazzy 'first day' outfits for under ten dollars each. After that, we browsed the baby gear and dreamed about what it will be like when we finally get the call for our first foster baby. (Come on, phone! Ring!) After that, we headed across the street to Target, where both Emma and Kate selected a new pair of shoes (oh my, you should see the one's Kate chose!) and something fun to wear in their hair. We finished off our trip with Icee's, and while we paid my oldest daughter told me I was the best mama in the world. Her words kind of melted my heart.

I am not going to lie. It hasn't been an easy financial transition for us since leaving the children's home last May. Not only did we lose my salary, but we added a house payment and the monthly bills that go along with that. It's been a bit stressful, to say the least, and we have had to reign in our usual spending quite a bit. Boss reminds me all the time that we are trying to do something that is very hard. Most families in the world today are two income families. But we believe wholeheartedly that being home with our children is where I'm supposed to be, so we make it work. For us, that meant that this year our back to school shopping was at a second hand clothing store instead of at Kohl's or Justice. And instead of having a girlie lunch at Olive Garden or Panera Bread, this year our special treat was an Icee. But my kids still smiled, they still got their bling, and with a sparkle in their eye, they still told me that I was the best mama in the world. My daughter's proved to me today that they don't need name brands or fancy meals. All we really need is each other. I am so thankful for my girl's attitudes and hearts, and I am so thankful for the gift of getting to spend my days with them. There is nowhere else that I'd rather be.

*** It might seem a bit silly that a homeschooler would need a 'back to school' outfit, but contrary to popular opinion, we don't do school in our jammies every single day of the week! Though it would be kind of awesome if we did. ***

My Daughter, The Actress

They say that some traits are genetic. And I say that I would have to agree. Because my daughter Emma, the actress, rocked it out on stage this past weekend in her spring musical performance of School House Rock (Live)! Clearly she gets her mad skills from me. Some people believe that home schooled children are deprived both socially and from age appropriate life experiences. And I say that I would have to disagree. Because my daughter, the actress, is living the good life, learning things, and having fun all at the very same time. She is beautiful, and smart, and kind, and smart, and likable, and smart, and funny, and smart, and sarcastic (another lovely trait she inherited from her mama), and smart. And did I mention that she rocked it out on stage this past weekend? Because she did, and I am so, so proud of her!

At the beginning of this school year our family joined a home school group in our area, and immediately Em wanted to sign up for Musical Theater Jr. Every week for this past year, she has gone to class and worked her hardest to learn all of the words to the songs and all of the steps to the dances. She has practiced at home and sang in the car. And she has done it all with a smile on her face. And in case I haven't mentioned it, last weekend she rocked it out on stage. She is one awesome kid, my daughter, the actress. I am so proud to be her Mama!

* Thanks to Denise Owens Photography for the cast pictures! *

Back to School, Back to School

Another school year is under way, and this year our family has a second grader and a brand new Kindergartner! This year we plan to follow much of the same schedule that we kept last year. Three days of lessons, one day for hands on learning (baking and creating, etc.), and one day of co-op classes (this is new for our girls!), which we are super duper excited about! We kept much of Emma's curriculum the same from last year (Abeka, A Reason for Writing, Pathway Readers), only we advanced to the next grade level. She is so smart and likes to work independently, so this curriculum really suits her. With Kate we are simply focusing on math concepts, handwriting, and learning how to read. She is so excited to be joining big sister at the table for studies each week! Kate always has a great attitude and is excited about learning new things! Co-op is each Wednesday, and it has been such an awesome experience for us so far. The girls love getting dressed up and pulling around their backpacks like "real" students. Ha! They are both in an "Art Around the World" class, and Emma is also in Musical Theater Jr. This year they will be doing School House Rock. I LOVE the music and am so happy that it plays 24/7 in my car and and in my brain! Okay, that is a lie. The music makes me want to beat my head against the wall, but then I look in the rear view mirror and see my girl singing her heart out and my heart feels full once again. I feel so blessed that my children get to be a part of such a wonderful organization! I feel so blessed that we have the freedom to educate our children at home in the first place. Period. I get chills when I think about it. I can't imagine life any other way. Here's to the start of another wonderful school year!

What's On Your Back to School Shelf?

Sometimes being a home school mama can feel pretty isolating. I always wonder if I am doing enough or if I am doing things the "right" way. There is no "right" way, mind you (that's the beauty of homeschooling after all. You can do it any way you want!), but I still wonder if I am teaching my children everything that I should be. That is one reason that I love the Internet! It connects me with so many wonderful resources for homeschooling and I love reading blogs by other mamas who home school, too. I love when they post ideas they have and about the curriculum's they have chosen for certain grades. It helps me put together my own plan for how our family will do school, and it greatly encourages and reminds me that I am not alone in this endeavor. So, for your viewing pleasure, I have decided to post the ideas and books we will be using for Emma and Kate this year (the contents of our back to school shelf, if you will). If you have no desire to read about home schooling first grade and preschool, then stop reading right here or you will be bored to tears. No worries! You can't say that I did not warn you :). Here goes:

First Grade

Spelling - A Reason For Spelling
Handwriting - A Reason for Handwriting
Reading - Pathway Readers
Language Arts - Abeka Seat Work Text First Grade
Math - Abeka Arithmetic 1
Science - Abeka Discovering God's World Grade 1
History/Geography - Abeka My America and My World Grade 1
Health Safety and Manners - Abeka Reader 1

I know this seems like a LOT for one little girl, but it really isn't so bad! We really only school for a "full" day (meaning teaching EVERYTHING listed above) two days a week (Tuesdays and Wednesdays). On those days it takes us around three hours to complete all of our work. On Mondays we have dance and on Thursdays I have a staff meeting and lunch, so on those days I assign Emma seat work to do involving Language Arts and math. Fridays we use for finishing everything up for the week. We take our spelling tests then, and we complete any work that we did not finish throughout that week. So that's the curriculum that I have chosen, in a nut shell.

I LOVE our spelling and handwriting books. They are very straightforward and focus on scripture. They go hand and hand with one another, so they provide our memory verse for each week. They might be a bit simple for older grades, but they are perfect for younger kids. Love them. Pathway Readers are new to us, but I love them because they are "whole" fiction. They are Amish schoolhouse readers and the stories are very simple, but Emma is enjoying reading about large families and farm work. The stories are about children her age so she can easily relate. For everything else we are using Abeka. Abeka is very worksheet oriented, but that works well for Emma. She loves (oddly enough) to do worksheets and to chart her progress each day. As far as planning fun, hands on activities, I let the ideas in the books guide me for the most part. For example, yesterday we were learning about how our bodies grow taller, so we created homemade stilts out of baby formula cans, so the girls could see what it felt like to be taller. So fun for them! Another example. Yesterday we were studying how God has made everyone with different fingerprints, so we made fingerprint cards for each of us and studied them under a magnifying glass. Also, if there is a holiday coming up, I am sure to check lots of books out of the library to help us learn about that day. Thank goodness I have children who love to read! So far, first grade is turning out to be much more time consuming than kindergarten, but it is going well. So thankful we have this time together. So thankful Emma has an obedient spirit that loves to learn.

Preschool

I have already shared that Kate is attending mini school for one day each week. I think it is important for children to learn to respect and be obedient towards other adults from a young age. I also think it is good for them to spend a bit of time away from the nest, to test their wings, if you will. So we do preschool one day a week. Currently, the only thing I am working with Kate on is writing the letters in her name. I make her spend a few minutes each day making her K's, A's, T's, and E's. I also have a few preschool workbooks (Richard Scary's Back to School and Abeka's Letters and Numbers) that we do a few pages in from time to time, but I don't push this. If she wants to do work, Great! if not, then no big deal. The time will come soon enough when she will be forced to comply with learning. I do not like rushing children to grow up too quickly!

So, that's how we roll in the "Z" house. Some days feel crazy, others I feel in complete control. We definitely take it one day at a time. We always make sure to have lots of laughs and praise. Life is good.

First Day of First Grade

After three weeks of kindergarten review we finally started first grade today! Look at our big first grader! And check out those two missing bottom teeth. I just love scraggly tooth grins. There's just something about them. Anyway, back to our first day of first grade. Somehow we managed to get everyone up, dressed, and fed by nine am. Quite impressive for Emma and I. We like sleeping in, and waking up before eight in the morning is just painful for us. Emma got herself dressed and brushed her own teeth and hair. She is getting so big and independent. After she was ready, Daddy came home and took her first grade picture in front of the big tree in the yard. Then we were ready to start.

We schooled from nine am until twelve pm. That is a full day of schooling for us. Today we covered Bible time and journals, spelling, handwriting, language arts seat work, reading comprehension, science, history, and math. That sounds like a lot, but it really isn't so bad. Emma is so great at listening and getting all of her work done.

After school we had a picnic outside on our front lawn for lunch! We got out our favorite picnic blanket and set up our Hello Kitty dishes. We enjoyed the sunshine and the afternoon breeze and chatted while the girls ate. Jack chilled in his bouncer seat and then rolled around a bit on the blanket. After lunch I read aloud to the girls from Beezus and Ramona. My own mother read all of the Ramona books aloud to me when I was a child, so I have especially enjoyed sharing these books with my own girls. We decided that we would make every Tuesday our official picnic and read aloud day for as long as the weather will last. We definitely read at other times, but Tuesdays is our special picnic date. When the weather will no longer cooperate we will move inside for tea and story time. That sounds pretty heavenly too. After our picnic I rocked Jack on the porch and gave him his bottle and the girls fancied up the front walk with side walk chalk. It was a beautiful, simple day and I feel so thankful to get to spend my days mothering these three.

Review, Review

Today marked the end of a two to three week kindergarten review that I have been doing with Emma each morning.Next week we will officially start first grade! I decided to do a review so that we could wake our sleepy summer brains back up! I also thought it would be a good idea to slowly ease us back into the routine of schooling each day, while allowing new schedules for the rest of the house to fall into place and giving life a chance to calm down a bit before jumping into new material. I bought some addition and subtraction workbooks from the dollar section at Target and we went through those these past couple of weeks. There were also some review sections in her first grade spelling and handwriting books, so we knocked those out of the way, too. Last but not least, we went through the book What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know (it is part of The Core Knowledge Series, and it is awesome!).

One of my biggest fears as a home school mama was that I would not teach my children all that they needed to know. How was I supposed to know what each grade required a student to comprehend before passing them on to the next grade level? It was overwhelming, to say the least. The easiest route, of course, would have been to select an all encompassing curriculum, but I am not really a boxed curriculum kind of gal. I tried that, and it just did not work for our family. I wanted to create my own mini curriculum, but had no idea where to start. Then my friend introduced me to The Core Knowledge Series books. They have a book for every single grade level and when I read it, it made me all warm and tingly inside, because it told me exactly what my daughter needed to know for each grade. (What? A textbook has never made you all warm and tingly?) All I had to do was find a curriculum for each subject that covered the required material. It was awesome. Love at first sight. I read through this book towards the end of the summer and highlighted areas that I wanted to introduce to Emma before moving on to first grade. These past two weeks we have talked about poems, tall tales, common sayings, weather and seasons, authors, the continents, pilgrims, and presidents, just to name a few. I had originally planned to only review for a week, but she was so fascinated that it ended up taking three! That's what I love about learning at home. You can adjust your schedule to meet your child's needs (and even their wants!).

So, that is what we have been up to. Reviewing in the mornings, and playing Just Dance in the afternoons. We have also thrown in some mall time, card time, and Grammy and Da time. On Friday Kate starts mini school, and next week dance classes for the girls pick back up. Fall is officially here, and our school schedules are underway. Life is good.

Back to School Date 2010

Today was our annual Mother/Daughter Back to School Date. Just because we homeschool, doesn't mean we can't have a little fun getting back to school things! While I was never really a fan of going to school as a child (I know there are some kids who love it, I just was not one of them), I was always a fan of getting new clothes! And there is just something about fresh notebook paper and a brand new box of Crayola's. Those things still make my heart go pitter patter! So I decided early on that just because we do school at home (sometimes even in our pajamas! Gasp!), that my kids would not miss out on the excitement that is getting back to school things. It just sets the tone for the year, ya know?

This year we dropped Jack off at my mom's and us girls went to town. Emma wound up with a new outfit for our special back to school dinner that is coming up, a new folder to keep this years work in (she chose one with kittens on it), and a new pair of ballet shoes and a leotard for her fall dance classes that are coming up in September. Sidenote: Can I just say that this girl is hard to take shopping? She deliberates over every single, tiny detail. It took her thirty minutes in the folder isle. That's right, the folder isle. She was so worried she would make the wrong choice. Ha! I love that girl.

Sweet Kate needed a bit more since she will be attending mini school this fall. (Mini school is our church family's preschool program that runs every Friday.) Kate wound up with three new outfits, one new set of jammies, a new leotard, and a new backpack, lunchbox, and folder. She is so proud of her new backback! In the beginning she had her little heart set on a My Little Pony theme, but that was nowhere to be found. So she quickly settled on a Hello Kitty theme. Kate is the exact opposite of her big sister. She wants the first one of everything she sees!

In between stores we stopped and grabbed a little snack. Emma told me it was the best day ever because I spent the whole day just being with them. In my mind I was thinking, "I spend everyday with them", but then she said, "You didn't even use your cell phone or anything." Whoa! Talk about a dose of humble pie. I think I just learned first hand that being near my kids is not the same thing as being with them. Thank you, sweet Emma, for teaching your Mommy such an important lesson. Needless to say, my phone will be turned off during our school days this year. What is the point of keeping my kids home so we can be together, if I am distracted from being together?

It was a great day. I love my girls so much, and am so thankful that the three of us have so much fun together. While I do not want time to fly, I hope we always remain this close. I look forward to many times like these in the future! Here's to the start of another great school year!

One Year Down, Twelve Years To Go Part 2 (For The First Child Anyway!)

In my first post about home schooling, I shared with you our families experience as we took the plunge and home schooled Emma for her Kindergarten year. Now, almost a full year later, our fmily is about to embark on home schooling first grade and it feels like old hat. A perfect fit for our family and the lifestyle that we desire. Today I want to share with you why we have chosen to home school our kids.

There was a time in my life when I thought what some of you might possibly be thinking. Home school families are freaks! Ha! I grew up in a rather well-to-do suburb of Houston, TX. Everyone that I knew went to public schools where the parking lots were filled with Porsches and fancy trucks, etc.... that belonged to the students. In Sugar Land it was all about status. All of the public schools competed against one another, and which school you attended determined your status at everything else in the community. NOBODY home schooled. Except for the Mormons. Seriously. Home schoolers were nerds. They had no life. I first learned about a family similar to mine beginning to home school their children when I started the sixth grade. Our preachers wife started home schooling their children, and that was all it took for me to want to get in on that action. By mid semester my mom agreed and she pulled me out after Christmas. Unfortunately, I think it was a bit too late for me to start that endeavor. I was not interested in taking instruction from my mom (sorry, Mom), and we never got involved in any co-ops or groups and I became very lonely. I spent more time trying to get out of doing work, than it would have actually taken me to do the assignments. By the middle of seventh grade I was enrolled in a private school where I remained until I graduated. But the idea of home schooling stayed with me.

After Ben and I began having children, and each year took us closer to making an education choice for our kids, I would think about home schooling. In no way do I think that home schooling is the only right way to do things. I know several families that do both public and private school, and there are several of those families that I respect. For me, it simply started with the fact that I wanted to be with my children. It was always on my mind how fleeting their childhoods are. We only get so much time with our kids....to laugh with them, mold them, teach them. Why would I want to send them to someone else to do that for 7 to 8 hours a day? It just did not sit well with me. I wanted to be the one they laughed with. I wanted to be the one who molded them. I wanted to be their teacher.

The things that kept me from jumping in whole heartedly in the beginning? Well, selfish reasons, for starters. If I chose to home school, I would never get a break. No going back to bed after the bus came, no running errands in peace, no visits at coffee shops with friends. I didn't know if I was willing to give all of those aspects of life up. I also worried about all of the social aspects of home schooling that people always ask about. What if my kids had no friends? What if they were social outcasts and developmentally behind other kids their age because we chose to home school? I was also sad when I thought about the fact that they would miss out on class parties and plays. I was sad they would not get little Valentines from friends. I was sad they would never experience Home Coming. But you know what I realized? Nothing of what I was afraid they would miss out on was about educational things. It was all about parties ad having "fun". Things that I can barely remember being important to my own childhood now that I am an adult.

I remember clearly the day that I made up my mind to home school our kids. It was about eleven in the morning on a Tuesday. Everyone on campus was at school, and I looked out the window and saw our neighbor boy (who is home schooled) out riding his bike, already finished with his lessons for the day. He had his legs kicked out to the sides, was screeching with delight, and had a look of pure joy on his face. I thought to myself, this is what childhood is all about. No worries or stresses that come with the confines of a classroom. Just being able to learn and explore. Being able to be a KID.

I firmly believe that God "led" us to this tiny town in the midst of corn fields, for this stage of our lives, for a reason. I loved the school that Ben taught at and the preschool they had that Emma attended when we first moved here. Had it not shut down (which at the time we were very devesdated about) I know I would have sent my children there. It was a school filled with loving, Christ centered teachers. Daddy was there to know what was going on. It was on our property. It was the easy choice for educating our kids. A good choice for us even. But had it not shut down, I would not have gotten to experience this, the very BEST choice. For our family, that is. Now my children are not just a number that need my attention at the end of each school day. They are my day.

And you know what the funny thing is? After all of that worry, I do not feel like we are missing out on a single thing. If I want to crawl back into bed after I send the big kids off to school, my babies get to crawl back in with me. If I want to meet friends for lunch, the kids go with me. And have no fear. They still got plenty of Valentines from the neighborhood kids :). Sometimes I even wish we were a little more lonely... just kidding! My children have plenty of friends. They have neighborhood friends, church friends, home school friends, and dance friends. Best of all they have each other. I love the fact that they are each others very best friends and play mates.

I LOVE home schooling my kids. I LOVE that when they have questions about life or learning that I am the one who is filling their heads with the answers. I LOVE that they have no stresses or worries, and that they are free to just be kids. I LOVE that their daddy and I are the greatest human influences in their lives at this point, and I LOVE that I have the time to spend with them each day, shaping their hearts for the future. Some people believe that home schooled kids are too sheltered, and that they will go hog wild when they graduate and are finally on their own to make life decisions. While I do not believe my kids are too sheltered (they live with the epitomy of the world), that might in fact happen. My kids might go "crazy" at college or at any other time in their lives, really. On the other hand, perhaps they might be so strong in their faith and in their family relationships, that they might have the strength to stand strong and firm in the midst of a world that is full of temptation. I believe that as parents it is our job to trust God with our kids hearts and lives. To do the very BEST that we can for them with the resources that we have been given. That is all any of us can do, really.

I know that there are some people who will never agree with our decision to home school, including some of our own family members. That is okay with me. These are simply our thoughts on why we have made this choice for our family. It was a decision we made after much prayer and consideration and we have not looked back. It has been a complete and absolute JOY. When Ben and I are empty nesters we do not want to look back and regret that we did not spend enough time with our kids. That we let someone else have control of their hearts and minds during the most formative years of their lives. We only want the BEST for them, as does any parent. And we believe this is BEST for us. Here is to another great year of growing and learning together as a family!

One Year Down, Twelve Years To Go Part 1 (For The First Child Anyway!)

So, we are currently wrapping up our first year as a home schooling family! Whew! And what a year it has been. I have not written much on here in regards to our decision to homeschool our children, but I plan to remedy that right now! The following is a little sample of what I wrote last year on what I hoped to accomplish this year, and what my expectations were for teaching Emma Kindergarten. Let's review, shall we?

"I have finally chosen all of the curriculum that we will be using! I am going to use Weaver Interlock by Alpha Omega for Kindergarten for Emma next year. A friend recommended it to me and after looking at some of the sample lessons, I believe that Kate will be able to participate too, and both girls will love it. We will be using Leading Little Ones to God for our morning devotions and Hermie and Friends Scripture Memory Songs to help us with our memory verses. Emma will be using A Reason For Writing for her handwriting and Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons for reading. For math we will use the Brighter Child workbook.

I am hoping to do lots of hands on activitities. This year my main goals are to strengthen Emma's reading skills (she can already read short books at age four) and to set the stage for our later years of learning. I want the girls to think home schooling is fun! We will also be working on discipline and setting more of a routine for our days."

So how did we do? Epic Fail! Just kidding. We had a pretty great year! It did not go at all as I had planned (turns out I had pretty lofty expectations for our first year of home schooling), but we learned a lot about how much time we would have each day, what time of day Emma has the most energy to learn, Emma's learning style, and what types of curriculum/workbooks Emma enjoyed using the most.

When I first announced we would be home schooling Kindergarten, the advice I received over and over again was to focus on reading and math everyday, and to simply let the rest go. Those who have gone before me suggested those were the two most important components of a Kindergarten year, and suggested I not worry too much about schedules, subjects, and formal learning. But did I listen? Of course not :). I had grand visions of us waking early, getting dressed, sitting at the table five days a week over morning devotions, following a curriculum to a T, and being so organized that I would impress even myself. Ha!

I did purchase the core curriculum that I mentioned above and we used it for about the first month of schoolbefore putting it aside for the remainder of the year. As we started going through it, we discovered that it was quite a "hands on" curriculum, and I found I did not have the amount of time necessary to put in to teaching it. Also, because Emma had gone to such an in depth preschool program the previous year, she was more advanced than what the curriculum was teaching. I do believe that I will use this curriculum when Kate starts Kindergarten, but it simply was not for Emma. She enjoyed the crafts that went with the lessons, but the work was much to simple for her.

Morning devotions did not go quite as planned either, and this is probably what I am most disappointed in myself for. I did not end up liking the book that I purchased, so we borrowed a devotional book from a friend, and the girls did keep picture journals of the lessons we learned. There was also a memory verse that went with each devotion, so we covered a few of those. We probably only did journals 50% of the time, and that is the first thing that I plan to remedy next year.

So what did we cover, you might ask? Why reading and math of course, just like my wise friends suggested in the first place :). We ended up using a Kindergarten Abeka math book which we completed the first semester (covering all necessary Kindergarten content), and we spent this last semester delving into some first grade math concepts (double didget adding and subtracting, time telling, money, etc.) Emma LOVES math, and it turns out the girl LOVES worksheets! Totally not the way that I enjoy learning, but it works for her. She enjoyed working at her own pace, and would sometimes sit and complete ten pages/worksheets a day. Smarty pants.

And where do I begin with reading? My sweet girl can now read almost any book that she picks up. She still reads quite slowly (getting faster every day!) and stumbles over some words, but she's got it. I completely recommend Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons! It was so easy to go through and they made the process of trying to teach your child to read enjoyable and easy. It is such an amazing thing to witness! My heart swells with pride each time she picks up a book to read, and I am so glad that she LOVES it!

So, I suppose you can say that we met the majority of our goals for this year, and more importantly we had fun doing it! We covered everything that your average Kindergartener would have learned in a public school setting, and then some. Next school year I plan on making August a review month before diving in to first grade. I am excited about the materials I have selected for next year and hope they are a good match for Emma! While it is looking like we will be busier than ever, it will be a bit more necessary to spend more actual "table time" learning, and I will be working this summer to come up with a realistic schedule. And as always, we will strive to make discipline and following a routine top priorities!So there you have it. One year of teaching down, and twelve to go (for our first child)!