Why I home school.

I have read many blogs and many of the parents home school for many of the same reasons. Some reasons may overlap and and some are different. The most common theme I see is giving your children something better.  A better education, a loving environment, a better way of seeing the world.  These are some of my reasons.  When my daughter was born 6 years ago I thought about homeschooling but I never knew anyone who had done it. I had no information on it and it seemed very different. Such an unconventional way of doing things, It still is. I do not get offended if people do not understand my reasoning behind my educating my children. If someone asks its an opportunity for me to let others know about what I know.  Just like most things in life if it does not concern you as an individual you do not take the time out to find out about it.  I did extensive research when I decided that home schooling was an option I was thinking about.
Today my husband and I were reflecting o n how far we had come as a family in respect to my daughters education and the effects it had on us overall.  I want to inform you that when I told my husband I wanted to homeshool he was hesitant.  I needed to make sure we all wanted to homeschool before I made the leap.  I had given my husband a lot of information and became even more informed while trying to show him what I believed would be best. I asked him how he felt so far about my homeschooling? And does he feel my daughter is learning enough?
My hubby said he is happy with our decision. The only thing he worries about is if they will have a problem if they enter public school again. But its not my biggest concern yet.
Today we listened to jazz and ate lunch by the rain. Yes our days can be chaotic sometimes but days like today are priceless.

Accidentally UnSchooling.

Home schooling has been a challenge to say the least. Some days I wonder why am I doing this? but most days I know exactly why.  Yesterday I took the kids to the library just to hang out, get some books, change the environment. And it was wonderful.  The kids mostly played but they behaved so well. I was able to look for books, read a little, and feed the baby. It was absolutely beautiful. The kids even did a library project that they had at the table, some cutting and gluing.
At the end of the library trip my daughter wanted to take out a movie, so I made a deal with her. I said "if you want the movie read me that book you are looking at." She was looking at "Happy Halloween Biscuit." She said "ok." She proceeded to read the book. She needed some help with a few words but for the most part she did it herself and she was smiling and enjoying herself. I really do not know when this happened. Now that I write about it we took a about a week and half off just to hang out with dad because he took some days of of work. looking back I see that not pushing her in her phonics lessons has helped.  Yes I helped with some of the foundation phonics but I think I may have been pushing too hard to have her reading that it may have pushed he away. I am an avid reader. I just am.  No one in my family growing up read. I just loved it. I guess I want my children to desire to read like me. But I can not go about it the regular school way.  I borrowed about twenty books from library. Hoping to spark some desire in them. My daughter always makes me laugh because I want them to be interested in one thing and she surprises me and wants the opposite.  I got many books on pumpkins and animals.  She chooses the book I got for my son on wolves.  Children are amazing and I need to step back most of the time and watch them be children.  Yes I must guide them, yes I am their teacher, but not the teacher that I grew up knowing. A new teacher, a mentor, maybe even sensei.
Accidentally unschooling is only word I have for it. Because every article i read on unschooling  seemed to me that parents were being lazy. When in fact its harder to let go. It takes more faith to let your children grow without a schedule, without the standard list telling you exactly what they need to know.
I do not know where we will head from here. I headed in to this not knowing where I would start but I did it. So I know anything is possible.  Now  just have to get my lazy but up and do something about it.

Mornings are beautiful

I do not have much time to spend writing but I must say mornings are beautiful being a stay at home and homeschooling. There are no other words to describe how wonderful it is to wake up and get things ready for the morning and then wait for the children to wake up.  Penny was in kindergarten last year and that was stressful. Trying to get her ready and alert in the morning was like pulling teeth from a bear.  It was not a pretty sight.
Homeschooling is truly a challenge but I love it. Mornings like today confirm it. Yesterday was a stressful day. I think it may be because we did not go to church. We have started attending a church in our neighborhood and it has been great for our family. I truly feel that because I missed that day in the week to become refreshed and to recharge my batteries for the week spiritually it affected me.  I will try to make it a point to make that time to go to church again. I used to go all the time even when I had Penelope. Then it was easier toting one little baby around. But having three should not be an excuse.  I know myself and I know I need to have my spiritual life fed or I can unravel. I know it is my responsibility to go to God anytime because he is there but it honestly helps when you are surrounded by other like minded people.
Today I want to have a productive day even with the challenges.
I love my family.

Different Strokes For Different Folks.

So the saying goes. And I am glad that I can choose what path of education I will give my children. I am learning everyday that this is harder than I could have imagined.  That being said, its an a amazing challenge and I am so happy that I can meet this challenge and grow from it.
I really did not know how I was going to approach my homeschooling style.  There is a tone of information out there. And it can be confusing.  There are so many different homeschooling styles, on top of choosing curriculum.  It can be a daunting task. I thought I would start home school and my right from the start my daughter would be behind.
The challenges are real and it can be frustrating trying to figure out exactly what is right for your child. And you read other homeschooling blogs or books you will see that everyone chooses what is best for their child and what they want to teach them.  Learning how my daughter learns has been hard.  She has more energy then ten children but her desire to learn is so large. In kindergarten they said she passed a check list. They said she was able to count to 100 and read certain words.  Yes she learned a lot in kindergarten but how much of that stuck? I found out not much.  I was watching videos of when she was a toddler and she had learned so much from me.  now I have to start from the beginning because she has a hard time reading and she does not like to do it.  So I am finding new ways to show her how amazing reading can be.  It is a one day a time thing.  The local library has a read to a therapy dog day and she enjoyed that.  I hope she is encouraged to read more if we do this more often. She always says "mom is it going to be fun.?' And I can tell she thinks learning is boring.  And honestly we all know some of it can be. But that does not have to be the end all and be all of lerning. especially for children.
I am reading "How children Learn." By John Holt.  He says "What teachers and learners need to know is what we have known for some time: first, that vivid, vital, pleasurable experiences are the easiest to remember, and secondly, that memory works best when unforced..." I want to learn how teach in this way.  I want to be able to help things stick in my children s minds and have them enjoy learning at the same time.
Last week I read them a small printed book on "why leaves change color?"
We read it, spoke about it, and then went outside to have fun.  They happened to pick up some leaves so I asked her for a spot on, playground oral report on why leaves change? I did not tell her that is what it was. but she did it enthusiastically and she did so well. My husband watched the video I took of her telling me how leaves change and he said he learned something new. It was an amazing thing to see.  It was not just facts it was real. And she felt it and she was able to take her time seeing it happen. Not stuck in a room reading a textbook answering unimportant questions.

Good Day To Homeschool

We have had some rough days and today was a good day.  We were met with some challenges but I am truly learning how my daughter learns.  At the same time I am learning.  I am learning patience, and the fundamentals of learning.  She finished kindergarten but I realized that she was not completely grasping what she needed to start reading.  It was strange because she was so advanced.  She was recognizing letters before she was one.  I kind of fell off the wagon after having my son and my other dear daughter.   I was hoping for her to be ahead of the game in kindergarten but she was doing ok.  This was one other reason for me to consider homeschooling.  I just know in my heart that the my kids can learn better.  If I were to send her to school  I know she would do just fine, but I do not want her to have time wasted waiting if I can take the plunge and try it at home.

Today she made some amazing progress. I realized she was approaching reading with hesitancy.  I do not know why because she was so ready to read a year ago.  I wonder if she started feeling as though reading was just boring work.  My challenge is to somehow show her that it is work to learn but that it can be such an enjoyment to learn something new. Today I found some new games on http://www.learningliftoff.com/.  I had her play some games. As her usually new way of approaching things she tried to play the preschool games and I said, no way girl that is too easy but I let her play.  I wanted her to see for herself that she could do more.  That she can have confidence in what she has learned, that she can tackle the first grade games.  And she did. She said "mom this is too easy, I am gonna try first grade." She spelled some words wrong but she was beyond excited to learn, She said "its clicking in my head." We had spoke earlier of letters being symbols to a puzzle, the words.  And how its clicks in your mind when you learn more. She was using sticky notes to help herself remember the ed ending in words. I have seen her write little notes to us before but not like this, She was using tools to help her learn.

It so amazing to see this progress.  It reaffirms to me what I want for my children.   Yes I know she can learning public school.  But here at home she was able to take her time.  she was able to pick what she wanted to do.  I lead certain lessons but this was on her own.  It felt good to see her want more. 

Rough Start Thursdays.

Wow what a difference a day makes.  I a mentally telling myself this is worth it, but its like my brain does not want to admit what I am feeling.  My daughter has so much energy.  She is extremely smart and has always been advanced for her age.  The thing is her energy can sometimes (who am I kidding), most of the times interfere with my thought process.  I mean that's why parents go crazy. All you want is a few moments throughout the day where you can actually think a whole thought without a child bursting into your thought and completely throwing you off.  

It is hardest when our financial situation is not the best. When I wake up and see how hard it is right now for us.  Then I start to doubt the decisions I have made for my family.  Why am I not in school full time right now? Oh yeah I can not afford daycare for two children.  Let alone books, travel, tuition for school.  And if I did get a full time job how much would we keep of that.  Not enough to make a difference.  It is still hard when situations hit me like a ton of bricks and I feel I have no where to turn.

My problem is I tend to scream when I am at the boiling point.  I am the thermometer in the old cartoons that would fill up slowly with red. Till at the end there was steam coming out of it and its too late because the thermometer broke.  It does not accomplish what I want it to.  I want to be able to communicate to my kids that now it is time to listen without my neighbors hearing me. 

Back to school.  Back to life. Bye for now.

Homeschooling Drama Mama.

Its official I am homeschooling.  It is week three and I have survived longer than I could have imagined.  I had imagined myself giving up and just driving my kids to the school within days of starting.  I honestly could not believe that I was taking such a huge leap in my children education and my families lives.  

When my daughter was born 6 year ago I had a desire to teach her at home and I had taken a lot of steps in introducing her to reading and language at a very young age.  I had previously heard about homeschooling but I really did not know much about it. I toyed with the idea of it but it never really resonated for too long.  There was no way I was going to stay home and teach my children.

Fast forward 6 years and that thought, that dream unrealized has turned in to a reality. I love it.  I can not explain this feeling I have.  I have read so much about mothers taking on this journey and really having a new appreciation and understanding for their child's education.  Being in it and living it is the only way to truly see what others are talking about.  The reason there are so many books on homeschooling. The reason why moms and dads write blogs sharing their journey.   Their ups, their downs.  And now I have mine.  

If you have read other blogs or have spoken to other parents homeschooling they will tell you some days are hard. And you may ask then why do it? why not send them to a school where there are teachers trained to do just that? To teach children. Because those hard days are nothing compared to seeing my daughter learn, and know that I have taken my time to teach her. Yes I have to learn patience when teaching her. Because it is a great challenge. Yet seeing her grow is amazing thing to see. I am seeing things I had never seen before. She is able to be herself.  I do not let her just run around with no rules. I just let her breather a bit. And she can take a break or two or three.  I know I am gonna get her there. 

I understand that all can or want to home school.  And that's the great thing about it, we can all choose whats best for our own children

I have so much more to see and learn.  I just hope and pray that I am doing the best by my children.  I had a calling for greatness for my family and I am not gonna sit idly by and wait for someone to tell me whats best for my family.  I want to be the one who chooses.