Homeschool

We began our journey into homeschooling in 1997, when my oldest son was 4 years old and I was starting to think about the next step in his life, which would be kindergarten.   I watched as several of his little buddies went off to their first year of school - sweet little boys - and watched as those same little cuties turned into little brats, after just a few months in Kinder.   Little by little, God began to place things in my path that just made more sense than sending my children off every day, only to undo bad behavior and untruths, at the end of the day.  

One day, while in the car, I heard Dr. James Dobson and Dr. Raymond Moore, discussing homeschooling and the benefits of keeping a child home, for as long as possible.   This intrigued me.   One of the reasons they gave was, that the longer a child was kept at home in the early stages of life, the more confident they would be; this due to not having to be "defined" by their peers, at such an early age.    I wholeheartedly agreed with that statement!

As I listened that day, I could feel my heart opening up to embrace this concept of schooling my son at home.   I knew two other moms who had recently pulled their older children out of public school, but had no idea what this new movement was really all about.   However, since I trusted Dr. Dobson's judgement on most things and I was already apprehensive about sending my son off, I decided to dive in and do some research.

The first thing I did was go to the only two moms I knew who were homeschooling and ask for advice.  They were both very gracious in lending me their favorite homeschooling books and curriculum catalogs, which was so exciting, and I began to study like there was a test at the end!

That was such a fun time of research and discovery for me!   I basically read everything I could find on the subject and when the Winter Educator's Conference came around in Houston, I grabbed one of my friends and headed there to soak up even more information.    I attended workshops, marveled at all the curriculum choices, and bought our first few homeschooling tools to take home (can you say Abeka?).

And that is how our homeschooling journey began.

That was 15 years ago and that first child has now graduated from Heritage Creek Academy (2011) and gone on to open his own music recording business. 

I am currently schooling my 2nd child, who has just entered the 8th grade, and still loving it.   I still believe in what we do, 100% !   

Homeschooling has allowed our family to own our life and schedule; not hand our life over to the school district to dictate to us, when and for how long we can be sick, go out of town, study what we love, or study untruths that go against our faith.     It's allowed us to be in charge of what my children are taught, what goes into their minds, what peers they have in their lives, and most importantly, it's allowed Christ to be infiltrated into each and every aspect of what we do.   

I could write story after story of the blessings that we have experienced through having our kids at home with us, but it would take all day to read.    It's just something you have to experience for yourself.     But, the richest of the blessings are the moments when you are gathered in your kitchen or livingroom, mid morning, and the conversations are rich with wonder and knowledge and life, and you think about how many kids are sitting at desks, being told what to think and what truth is and how many moms are missing out.   Those are the moments that I treasure, because I know that it could be so different.   I could send my kids off every day and be left to wonder what they "learned" that day; what they talked about, who they hung out with, etc.    But, I don't have to wonder!   I don't have to long for something besides the usual exchange of "How was your day?"  "Fine."  And, not knowing what's going on in my child's life.   Because I'm here, readily available, talking, hugging, guiding, directing, and knowing their hearts, their peers, their desires, their interests - all over 10 a.m. smoothies and laughter and learning.   

My kids will be the first to tell you how blessed they were (and are) to have the privilege of being homeschooled.   Not because it was always perfect, but because we were together.   We've built sweet memories that will last forever and that is priceless.

If you're wondering about curriculum choices, schedules, etc.,  you can click on the Homeschooling label on the right sidebar of the blog and read about those things there.

If you have any questions about homeschooling, I am always open for questions.

Thanks for stopping by!