So this is how it went in chronological order:
(I have tried to write this post four times over the last month, but things keep changing, and I just wasn't finding the words, so here goes. Also, for those who don't know us, #1 and #2 don't live in our home).
In Winter of 2011, I felt called to research homeschooling. Yes, I said homeschooling. It's not really that uncommon these days, or apparently in these parts (insert smile). I have a wonderful friend from childhood who home schooled her eldest three children starting in Kindergarten, and we have had countless conversations about the subject over the years (her oldest is 12). At the time of my promptings, I was living in a community where there are several homeschooling families (we later went on a field trip where there were 14 home schoolers with 2-4 children each!) So I didn't feel it was a completely crazy idea and decided to research it.
When I first mentioned it to my dear husband, he was very against it, spent a lot of time in prayer and research with me, and after multiple promptings that it was right, he lovingly decided to let me try it (why not?!). #3 was going into Kindergarten, which isn't required in California. By Spring, I just "knew" that I was supposed to homeschool our children. The major concern was that we were bringing M home that summer, and we had no idea how things were going to go once he got home. So I registered G with the local school before our trip to Ukraine "just in case", while she sat on a waiting list for a charter homeschool. When we got back from Ukraine, I panicked and put her in the public school because I knew there was no way I could manage homeschooling with a newly adopted preschooler - who we originally thought was 2 - in our home, and who didn't know us or our language.
A month into public school, and after volunteering and having Barry volunteer just to make sure I wasn't overreacting, I had that a-ha moment that hit me upside the head. What was I doing?! I KNEW I was supposed to homeschool. Did I think the Lord was going to abandon me now? I had to have faith and just do it. Let me insert here that people homeschool for many different reasons. My purpose of this post isn't to share our 'why's,' but rather the whole process of how we got to where we are now.
So we pulled G out of school and started homeschooling in October 2011. It went great the first few months. We made it to February before extenuating circumstances distracted me from my confidence. Instead of letting it ride out a bit, I reacted to a bad day and gave her her wish to go back to school the very next day. I don't consider it a mistake at all, just a bit hasty and something to reflect upon. She finished Kindergarten with flying colors, we had a great summer, and she started first grade in the public school this year with literally the BEST teacher on the planet (well one of them anyway). That was until two weeks ago, but I'll save that story for a bit later.
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| First day of 1st grade |
Now let's talk about #4. She's a December baby with a good amount of school readiness. She finished a full year of preschool, with home preschool before that, and she was ready for "real" school this year. I tried and tried tirelessly to find a school option where she could start Kindergarten early. It wasn't going to happen in any of our local school districts, so we ended up placing her in two different Pre-K programs to fill up a four-day week. I was driving 30 miles twice a week and 14 miles the other two, just for one child. This, with two others in school, created days where I was in my car up to 6 times a day just getting the children to and from school. Our youngest would spend almost all day in the car with me, then I'd be so exhausted by the end of the day that there wasn't really any fun time for us (the maximum break we had all day was 90 minutes). And it was time to start dinner after #3 got home and finished her homework. Two months into this nonsense, I had another a-ha moment. I use the word nonsense because we had options I wasn't realizing. Why not homeschool her?! I couldn't enroll her in a public school, and I couldn't afford to put her in private school, but I could homeschool her independently! OHHHHHH YEAH! (insert laugh).
So we withdrew her from one of the preschools, and chose to leave her in the other one for its reputation of a God-centered curriculum and G's experience with it two years ago (it's a GREAT program). We simultaneously began her Kindergarten school year on September 17, 2012. We are registered independently with the state and are using a curriculum called My Father's World. Side note: It was cheaper than our school district's annual bus passes! - Yes, our school district charges for public school bussing. C loves to learn, and she LOVES to hear stories. At four years old, she is asking me to teach her how to read.
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| First day of Kindergarten |
Of course, the littlest Little (#6) had to start preschool alongside her big sister. She was so excited to work in her new workbook! She does her own tasks and loves all the stories just as much. She even knew how to find "same" shapes a couple weeks ago, which was so cool to see at barely three years old, at least for me. It's always amazing to see what young children can grasp. A is counting up to 15 and starting to recognize numbers 1-5, and she was able to match the letters "E" and "F" early this week on our alphabet strip. I think the exposure to her sisters' reading is going to help her tremendously.
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| First day of preschool |
Starting homeschooling in our house doesn't go without lots of prayer and reading on my part. I love reading homeschooling support books, because they give you lots of ideas. However in doing so, I quickly started second-guessing my hasty decision to return G to public school last year. Again, she has had one of the best teachers ever this year, but I couldn't ignore the nagging feeling of what I know I feel called to do for my kids.
Homeschooling is not for everyone, and again the reasons are so vast that I cannot list them all here, but for our family, it is our road for education. We debated for a couple weeks, not "if" to bring her home, but "when." Should we wait until the semester ends? End of the year? Or just do it now? We talked to G about our ideas to homeschool for 2nd grade since she loves her teacher so much. But after several days of discussion in the house, she said she was ready to come home. We waited a few more days, and then we let her help us choose a last day of public school. It's gone so well; I really couldn't be happier. She has said more than once, "I love school here!", and when we're done with our lessons for the day asks, "Are my friends still at school?", which answer is always yes! We are going to library reading groups, park days with a homeschool group, soccer practices, and Girl Scouts. The children are all very busy, but school at home has been a lot of fun for everyone. And we're saving gas money and time in Mom's Taxi, which leaves more options for fun and bonding time!
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That leaves us to discuss #5. Up until now, I have repeated numerous times that public school has been the best option for M. He is getting all the services he would not be getting from me (Speech, OT, PT, and APE), he loves the bus, his routine, and his teacher and aides. There is also very close to a 1:1 ratio with 4 staff in his class and only 4-6 students.
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| 1st day of preschool - year 2 with his teacher and favorite paraprofessional |
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We are not anti-public school. We are both products of the system, as well as our two oldest children. It has some great things to offer. However and unfortunately, California schools have been hit hard with budget cuts, and class sizes are looming around 35 students, even in Kindergarten. There are many other reasons, but again this post isn't to list all our 'why's.' The support we get from new and old friends experienced in homeschooling is amazing. More people homeschool than I realized, or than you might think. Not to mention fun field trips (like the one we just did last week with the Girl Scouts to a hands-on kids museum, and the one we're planning to the Kids' Science Museum). The world is our classroom, and the children are learning everywhere we go. G also likes knowing we are done with school HOURS before she would've gotten out at regular school, which frees up time to do fun activities together, like playing Life, play-dough, Lego's, reading more books, watching a movie, or going to the library or store (more ways to learn!) Additionally, there isn't any homework to take us away from family time in the evenings, and G is a chapter ahead of her class in math because she can keep going in the book when she wants (we are using the same math book).
I am planning to homeschool all of them through high school graduation (the possibility for home schoolers to go to college is just as great as a public or private school graduate). Sports are offered through our community, and there are local homeschool co-ops that offer Spanish, French, Latin, art, chemistry, and band! So what are they really missing? I can't think of anything. But what are they gaining? A full day at home in a loving and secure atmosphere, in a "language-rich" environment (speech jargon), where they are free to be who they are without restrictions to sit still at a desk all day if they want to explore from a standing or jumping position (yes, I have one of those - actually two). They are free to ask as many questions as they want without "holding up" the institutionalized learning process, because frankly, their questions mean they are interested in something and that they will actually learn from the experience.
Lastly, with #1's blessing, we have converted his bedroom to our new school room since he's living in Seattle and not planning to move home. We kept his bed in there for visits, and will be able to convert it back if his situation changes, but for now it's looking AWESOME, and the children all love it so much. We still have some work to do, but it's so enjoyable to be schooling in there.
