I have been wanting to write about homeschool for a while now, but I as I read other homeschooling blogs I feel like they can write so much better what I really want to say. I then end up not writing anything at all. But I feel really strongly that this is something I need to write about, if not for anyone else but myself. We have recently finished our curriculum for the year and are waiting for our new materials to work on for the summer so this little break has given me time to reflect over the past year and how it differs from the year before and how we came to homeschool. Let me start at the beginning.
1. How we came to homeschool.
I have to be honest, when we first had Honey I had no idea I would be homeschooling. I think I fell under the bracket of people that think homeschoolers are those that are socially backward, make their own clothes, and are not worried about hygiene. Because Honey was a particularly difficult baby I couldn't wait for her to start school and to have time to myself again.
Two years later we had Babe and I still had no idea we would be homeschooling. When Babe was born my husband and I were both going to school. Babe for the most part was a pretty easy going baby and as she got a little older Honey and Babe loved playing together, but I still couldn't wait to send my kids to school to have that time to myself and focus on some of my own interests.
Two years later we had finished school, bought a house, and had our third baby, Porkchop. I did what I thought I was supposed to do and sent Honey to preschool. This sending her to preschool is what got me thinking about homeschool. This isn't to say that her preschool wasn't fabulous, because it was. I just found her picking up on attitudes that weren't necessarily bad, but maybe not something I wanted in our home. As time went on I kept thinking about how much time she was going to be away from our family and I also had some concerns about the type of education she was going to receive. Honey is not exactly self motivated and fearing that she would be taught to be average I worried that she would expect just that of herself. To be average, when I know she is capable of so much more. And yet I couldn't make a firm decision. After much prayer, research, and discussion we decided to homeschool. On the day of kindergarten registration I might add. Our rational behind our decision was that it's only kindergarten and if didn't work out we could always enroll her the following year. So that brings us up to last year.
2. Our First Year- I wish that I could say that our first year was a dream and there was nothing but smiling and laughing and good times had by all, but it was far from that. There were a lot of tears had by both Honey and myself. Babe and Porkchop would even have tears on occasion. I really shouldn't say that the whole first year was like this. Really it was the first couple of months. It took those couple of months to establish that while we are doing school I am not just mom, but also teacher. We also found she had similar struggles that her father has with ADD. Getting her to focus was a nightmare. But again after more prayer and research we were able to work through that.
During this first year is when I really started to notice benefits. That is to say, after the tears ceased. Honey tested a year ahead in math so we were able to start her on first grade math. If she would have been in public school I am pretty confident she would have been left behind a year because of her ADD symptoms, shyness, and unwillingness to work hard at something.
With homeschooling I have learned how she learns best and how to help her excel. She finished her first grade math and kindergarten materials in five months and we were able to move on to the following years materials.
I was also noticing benefits in our three year old as well. While Honey was doing her lessons, Babe would be observing and picking up on what her older sister was learning.
One thing I learned was that I wanted a little less structure than what I originally thought. We started with a program called WAVA. WAVA was great in that it provided all our materials for free and gave us a good starting point for what my kids needed to be learning. But I didn't enjoy the state coming in and telling me what to do. I felt like I was running public school in my own home which is soooo far from what I wanted. So we enrolled her in a different academy for the following year.
3. This Past Year- This year has been so much more enjoyable. The academy we enrolled her in gives us a funds allotment so I get to choose what materials we want to use. I have to admit it has been more work for me this year, but I haven't minded. I love what we are using. I am able to cater to the learning needs of each of my children and adjust their curriculum based on how they learn. We were able to focus on what they were interested at the time as well as work on our more structured items. I was able to incorporate some scripture learning materials into our curriculum, also. We have also spent quite a good amount of time on character building.
One more thing I am seeing this year is the relationship my kids are developing with each other. They play so well with each other and are learning how to solve problems each and every day.
I also enjoy that because we are not tied down to a public school schedule for 8 plus hours a day we are allowed more freedom to have social interactions with people of different ages and backgrounds.
Even though I have loved, LOVED this year so much better it still has challenges. There are still days I want to pull my hair out and I definitely have to make more of an effort to find my "ME" time. But I know that this decision to homeschool has been a HUGE blessing. I think I am just now starting to really realize this. After going through a miscarriage at the beginning of our school year we were really able to take time as a family to get away and work through that as a family. We have experienced all of our learning struggles and successes as a family. Our main focus is our family. And that is what I love the most. Because really is there anything more important. I feel like this is my calling right now to raise, nurture, and teach my children. Anything else is secondary.
While listening to General Conference this past April I must have had a homeschool filter on cause I felt like so many of the talks were a reassurance of our decision to homeschool. This is what I liked from Elder L. Tom Perry
"Teaching in the home is becoming increasingly important in today’s world, where the influence of the adversary is so widespread and he is attacking, attempting to erode and destroy the very foundation of our society, even the family. Parents must resolve that teaching in the home is a most sacred and important responsibility. While other institutions, such as church and school, can assist parents to “train up a child in the way he [or she] should go” (Proverbs 22:6), ultimately this responsibility rests with parents. According to the great plan of happiness, it is parents who are entrusted with the care and development of our Heavenly Father’s children. Our families are an integral part of His work and glory—“to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). On God’s eternal stage, it is usually intended that parents act as the central cast members in their children’s lives. Fortunately, there are understudies involved in the production who may step in when parents can’t. It, however, is parents who have been commanded by the Lord to bring up their children in light and truth (see D&C 93:40). According to “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” the principles I have taught about teaching in the home apply to both parents, but they are especially crucial to the role of a mother. Fathers most often spend much of their day away from home in their employment. That is one of the many reasons so much of the responsibility for teaching the child in the home falls on mothers. While circumstances do vary and the ideal isn’t always possible, I believe it is by divine design that the role of motherhood emphasizes the nurturing and teaching of the next generation. We see so many challenges today from distracting and destructive influences intended to mislead God’s children. We are seeing many young people who lack the deep spiritual roots necessary to remain standing in faith as storms of unbelief and despair swirl around them. Too many of our Father in Heaven’s children are being overcome by worldly desires. The onslaught of wickedness against our children is at once more subtle and more brazen than it has ever been. Teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in the home adds another layer of insulation to protect our children from worldly influences." I have been so grateful for our decision to homeschool and I know our family has been blessed because of it. I can't imagine my life anyway else right now and look forward to what the future brings.
