Another way to Color Outside the Lines

Friends have asked me recently, "How do you do it? How do you have the energy? Why did you decide to homeschool?" I figured I'd address those questions a bit here. Yes, I created a blog just for our homeschooling journey, because it's too much to cover in my other blog... No, I'm not preaching, I'm just letting you know how we do school. Forget asking me the socialization question...I'll try very hard NOT to roll my eyes and launch into the dreaded reply. My kids have more socialization than most schooled children and they're peer group ranges from newborns to 96 years of age... 'nough said, there. Anyway....

We decided to homeschool for two reasons. We wanted to freely put God at the forefront of our home and school and, because we realized early that our son needed the freedom to learn at his pace. His pace is somewhere around Mach 5. He was so frustrated in school that he would jsut weep on the way home. Yes, a God-centered education can be found at a christian school and there are many good ones near us. And, a God-centered life can be found in public school with Godly parents at the helm. However, with our sons' learning curve, and the frustration he was encountering, we believe, it would have been detrimental to his education. Sooo... our adventure began....

I use a schedule, because I'm a freak of nature who thrives on organization. I'm better than I used to be, really! The main curriculum I use, Sonlight, is a christ-centered, bible based full on curriculum. All of my major lesson plans are done, except for a few things and I get all of most of our books, etc. from them as well. I compliment our studies with Tapestry of Grace for in-depth study of church history and parallel history between the newly formed colonies and Europe during the same time period. We also LOVE our library and use it at every opportunity.

Here's what my kids are doing this year....they're in Grades 3 and 1 - Bible, History/Geography: 1607-1850, Language Arts (grammar, creative writing, writing basics, latin roots), Math, Science:Botany and nature study, Spanish, Latin, Piano, Guitar, Art w/ Thomas Kinkade series, co-op (4) classes (cooking, photography for kids, ballet, robotic design) and fitness.. We have field trips regularly and community outreach projects for our family, as well.

Our school days have recently been filled with government practices and electoral processes. We took a long hard look at the election process and even sat down and read the Declaration of Independence beginning to end. We're studying 1607-1850 this year. So the subject was timely. Lots of good stuff there. Now, we can get back to our "regularly" scheduled school year.... Ha! There's nothing "regular" about home school.

Do we always stick to the plan? NO! Are you crazy?! Okay, I'm a stickler for knowledge basics, so we stick to doing our seat work and basics daily. However, if I just did the books and explaining of history, geography, foreign language, etc., it would get stale really quick. It wouldn't be fun if we didn't take an impromptu field trip to see Ben Franklin's home and walk the cobblestones of Elfreth's Alley to see what a colonial street looked like. Mind you, we're blessed to live close to the "City of Brotherly Love," so studying, Revolutionary Times, is exciting for us. We've also got many opportunities in our own backyard. This fall we've taken a drive to visit a local farmer and watch him hand press apple cider, and, we've seen where the bees that pollinate the peach and apple trees out here live and do their work. Yes, there's a honey farm right up the road. We envy the bees this morning, their on their way to their farm in Florida for the winter. Did you know that a lot of bee keepers/famers (those who have bees and farm crops) ship their bees to warmer climates in the winter?

A lot of our school takes place outside of our home, through community, field trips, co-op and play dates. We take full opportunity of free art classes, theater programs and the like. Believe me, there are a lot of things out there in our county and state that provide educational opportunities for us.. I look at it this way, I live in a state that is the highest in taxes across the country. Over HALF of my taxes go to education and I don't use the system, so I utilize the benefits I can...

I want school to be fun and engaging.... so we keep it tight with regard to the "must knows" and we look for opportunities to seek knowledge in fun, creative and engaging ways. I learn better that way, and I know my kids do. There are many more things to share about our homeschool journey. Look for further installments in days and weeks to come.

As far as the energy to homeschool question goes... Yes, people, there are days I wonder what I was thinking to homeschool my children. Especially when one of my children has an IQ that is off the charts and he often teaches me more than I teach him. And, I have another who is more creative and fashion savvy at 6 than I ever want to be. Yes, there are days I want to run away to an island that has room service to my beach chair, a well stocked library of books and music, not a single person cares what my name is, and, I can drink all the Pepsi I want without sharing (Strawberry Hill in Jamaica has exactly that). But, I digress.... The the mommy moments and wonder of learning that take place daily, far outweigh the grumpy, dreamy days I have now and then.

Be blessed today!