Why I do this.

Here's a little anecdote that sums up why I choose to school my kids at home.  These moments would be someone else's if I didn't have them here.

The handwriting assignment was to write a letter to God thanking Him and asking Him for help in being a good student, especially in handwriting.  The three of them were doing so well and we discussed that no request is too small or too big for God, there is nothing He won't do for us if we are asking in His will.

Then, Mary, my sweet Mary, added, "I know a verse that says, 'Is there anything too difficult for me?' and that's God talking."  I was just filled with joy at hearing my almost-6 year old quote scripture in an appropriate application.  Melanie and I looked at each other with wide eyes.  I asked Mary if that had been one of her Awana verses and she informed me that it was actually William's verse that she had helped him with and that she has that verse in her book, but she hasn't gotten to that part yet.   Oh!  Just melt a mother's heart!

I could send my "monsters" to school each day and get a much-needed break from 24-hour duty and most days I would probably enjoy that very much, but how would I ever know what treasures like this I have missed?  Would these moments be some other teacher's?  Or would God bless another child with these displays of the power of His Word?

I count it a privilege and a blessing (most days) to have my children here at home with me, studying and applying God's Word to their lives.  And though I know I have the broadest impact on what my children learn and experience with God, I thank the Sunday School teachers and the Awana volunteers for their work, which has directly impacted my children in a very positive way, giving me this treasure to ponder.

The Way Things Used to Be

When we first began schooling, we focused our time heavily on calendar basics like days of the week, read-alouds, Bible memory work, and phonics to prepare our pre-readers.  We related our work to a letter of the week and/or the books we read aloud.  Here are some of the fun things we studied:

Days of Creation
the Sun
the Moon
nests
turtles
water - sink or float experiment, sprinkler fun

 

Valentines Day
The Miracle of Easter - making resurrection buns.

   

Horton Hears A Who and Horton Hatches and Egg - compare and contrast, Whoville pencils, and seeing the movie at the $1 theatre.

  

Fourth of July - Mary directs the to discover the letter of the week - F.

 

[Remembering these lessons makes me realize that I want to take more pictures of our work and projects.]
 This focus really helped our girls learn to read and both were strong enough readers in just a few months to take part in the public library program called Read to Rover.  Each child can choose a book to read to a service animal.

Now things are different and the strides our students have made in the last year are incredible.  I'll start posting our recent projects and lessons soon. 

How it all began

All of this homeschooling started way back in 2008. Melanie and I knew that our young girls were not ready for "real" school, but they still showed that desire to learn and they were definitely ready for what I considered my main goal for Kindergarten, which was to prepare them for and teach them to read. Mary Carol was just barely 4 years old, but she showed an eagerness to decode our confusing language, so after much consideration, we opened Kindergarten in the converted nursery in our house.

And, as little brother's often do, William refused to be left out of the fun. So he joined us as an honorary Pre-K student. What exactly that meant, we weren't sure, but we found out quickly that offering William different work than our Kindergartners only served to distress him more than being faced with a challenge. He kept up quite nicely, though distinctly at his own level for reading and writing.

Here are our little gems ready for their first day of school in January 2008:

With our friend, Eleanor right by our sides, we breezed through elementary phonics and Melanie and I found ourselves with 2 terrific readers in no time and 3 students ready and eager to learn the Bible verses, math basics, and themes we presented.

We've had our times of difficulty with the logistics of schooling while selling a house, while one child is in the hospital, and while living in an apartment that was too small for day-to-day life, let alone schooling, but once we started down the path of growing these blessings in our home, we've never looked back.

Where and how to start?

Here we are at the beginning of a new blog about homeschooling and I don't know where to begin. Shall I just jump in and tell you all about the fun we had this week or should I start at the beginning with the philosophy behind it all?

Today I choose to start with introductions.

I'm Lisa, a mother of 3 children, age 5 1/2, 4 1/2 and 2 1/2. Together, with my husband Doug, we live in the suburbs of north Texas. I grew up (mostly) in Coppell, where I met Doug and where we still attend church with the extended family. After Coppell, I attended college at the University of Dallas where I earned my degree. I'm a certified educator, though I don't view that as my chief qualification for schooling my children.

We moved into our house 6 months ago after living in our first home for 7 years. During that time, we met our good friends, the Heberts. They lived across the street from us then and when it came time to move, we coordinated with them and found a neighborhood with adjacent lots that suited both of us. About a year later, our houses were finished, complete with a gate between our back yards. We have continued schooling our 3 oldest kids together in our new houses. Four days each week we convene upstairs in my house to hold Kindergarten.

And that, my friends, is why I've started this blog. There's so much to share about our Kindergarten (and beyond) adventures, that I shouldn't bog down our family blog with all the details.

Surely, Melanie will join us shortly with an introduction of her own.

It's a new blog!

I couldn't decide where to gush about all of the fun things we're doing in homeschool, so I decided to create a super duper new blog to hold all the fun. Keep checking in for thoughts about homeschooling, pictures, stories and plans for what we are learning in our very own school at home!