How we are where we are...

Almost 6 years ago now, our first child was born. A beautiful baby boy. When you hold your child in your arms for the first time, you instinctively make that promise to do all you can to give them the best life possible and to protect them from all evil. Little did I know at the time that even stairs could be evil, or that corner of the coffee table. All those nicks and bruises that come with life, we can't always (nor should we) protect our children from them all. I do believe we should keep them from the true "evils" of life though. There are so many in the world that this is not an easy task. I also wanted the best education for my children. I did not want to see them struggle in school. I did not want them to deal with bullies, some of which are teachers. I don't want them to think if they don't have that pair of shoes, or show off their body in skimpy clothes then they are not "cool". I want my children to learn to be independent and learn how to use their minds and make smart decisions.

 I also believe God gives us a road map on how we should raise our children. It is the Bible. He tells us to teach them about Him and how to live according to His word.


It is impossible to teach those values if my children are at public school. All of the good that I could teach at home, they would just teach away in the school. They want my God out of schools and if He comes in, they want to treat Him as an outcast and make it seem wrong to believe in Him.

As you can see, I had a strong desire to teach at home.

About 4 years ago our daughter was born. Not long after she was born I started really working with my son at home. He was still very young, but we could do things like counting and ABCs. We did everything in a fun way. As he got older we moved on to some papers we would work together and more fun activities. He was just picking things up so quickly, he loved
to learn! My husband and I talked about homeschooling. I told him of my desire and unfortunately he had the opposite opinion. He had been homeschooled for the last couple years of his education, so Junior and Senior, and they hadn't gone well. He was left to do his schoolwork on his own and let's face it.....it didn't get done. Who wants to complete schoolwork when you have a TV and video games and no one to make you get it done? So we had that difference of opinion....

I was upset, but I believe in the man being the head of the household and while we make decisions together, I have to honor his opinion as he does mine. I decided to just continue to pray about it and if it is God's will, then it would be done. I continued to work with my son. I had him reading simple words by the time he was 4yrs old and we were doing a lot of K4 and K5 work. By the time he just turned 5 he had missed the public schools age cutoff so he was still home with me. He had already done all of his K4 worksheets and other things we did together. I was doing K5 with him - buying workbooks from dollar stores and Wal-Mart, but I REALLY wanted a curriculum. I did not want to miss anything, I wanted to be sure I was covering everything I could for him. He still had a year before "officially" starting Kindergarten at the local public school and I just felt that would be lost time. So, I decided to talk with my husband again. Before I sat down and really "talked" I made a point of my son showing him things he was doing in his schoolwork I had made at home. I had him sit and read with my husband. I had my husband sit with him to do things together, I wanted him to really see how our son was doing. How much he was thriving and how well he was learning. This went on for a little while and he was amazed! He could not believe how well he was reading and how his math was going. At this point I was ready to talk to him again...

I call this our discussion.... I did not push the issue of homeschool. I already knew his opinion. I only wanted his opinion on me purchasing a homeschool curriculum for Kindergarten. I told my husband that my son was beyond ready for it and it would help me to be sure he was not missing anything, that there were no gaps in his education. He told me that it was fine to do that. He was on board!! So I bought it and we began working it. When we first started the books everything was easy....my son flew through most of it. There were a few things here and there, but for the most part he ended up knowing at least half of that curriculum. At some point it was mentioned that maybe I could use the Kindergarten year as a "trial" period for homeschooling. Basically, if he didn't like it or it didn't work for me, then we wouldn't be missing anything and he could start school as usual the next year just as he should have.

I am happy to say now we survived Kindergarten and are now settling into1st grade. My son is still somewhat ahead of the curriculum we are doing, but I like the fact that he is getting good review to really instill that knowledge. My daughter is doing K4 this year, but even she could have started K5. She is like her brother and is a fast learner!

I look forward to each new day and I can't wait to see what they are going to learn for that day. It is exciting! One more thing before I go on this.....my son's favorite subject is Bible right now. It just doesn't get any better!!

I cannot thank God enough for the many blessings of my life. I won't go into them all right now, but let me just say. I am constantly amazed with His works in my life!!