Since I was in college, I have wanted to homeschool my children. I actually came to the decision before Ryan and I ever met, so when we started dating seriously, I had to make sure he was onboard. He was not too keen on the idea at first, but after meeting some homeschool families that I already knew and some that we came to know together, he slowly changed his mind before we had children.
Back then, I had a very idealistic view of how my homeschool would work. Our children would all be enthusiastic learners (which they are for the most part now) -- every day! We would all be ready to start early in the morning, and we would have all our work completed by lunchtime so our afternoons would be open for free time or extracurricular activities. My visions of multi-tasking with various age levels and keeping up the housework usually involved one or all our children cooperating with the day-to-day work with a song in their hearts and a smile on their lips. I, as mother and teacher, would always be patient and soft-spoken, able to answer every question perfectly and handle every problem with grace.
Fast forward to present times where our "school" consists of a 9-year old, a 7-year old and a 4-year old, each with his or her own unique personality, learning style, and sinful nature. I have only begun to realize how very sinful and selfish my expectations of "my" homeschool were/are. Our days are definitely not without their potholes, and if we ever have a day when we finish by lunchtime, it's probably because we didn't do half of our work!!
Even though homeschooling is not the easy road that I had envisioned it being, I will say that I am very thankful to be able to do it. I LOVE having our children home with me -- most of the time -- and when I look back at pictures of projects we have done together or places we have gone, I know that I would not trade one second of it. I now realize that there will never be a "perfect" situation, and homeschooling in and of itself will not fulfill all my needs. Yet God can and is redeeming my sinful dreams, and for that I am very grateful!
So, below are a few glimpses into what our school looks like. The first pictures are some science projects that the kids and I did as we studied rocks and fossils.
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| Maggie's sandstone sculptures -- her giant arch, a couple of hearts, a "rock, and a bird |
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| Will's sandstone car |
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| Meredith even made "a land"; oh, and she pretty much stays in a dress-up dress most days |
One new thing we have done is for the kids to go to a Mother's Day Out homeschool program one day a week at First Evangelical Church. We decided to do it mainly to incorporate more social time for Maggie and Will. I send their schoolwork that I would like them to do, and they also have other topics and projects they do as a class. They LOVE it! (The older ones that is; Meredith is a Mama's girl and has a hard time when she has to go to "that school thing.")
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| Maggie with her nutcracker from her study of Russia at 1st Evan |
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| Seashells and cast fossils that we made with the shells |
I thought that I might also include some of my favorite manipulatives, books, and reference tools.
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| LOVE these -- geoboard and rubberbands; pattern blocks; interlocking cubes; tangrams |
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| This board really could not be lived without. Meredith drew a picture for me although I'm not sure what it is. We use it for every subject and for just playing around. |
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| Meredith's math book and her phonics. This phonics is the 3rd book in the primer level, and she loves doing it. The math book, though, is her favorite for now. It's a kindergarten level book, but she is able to work it without any problems. |
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| Someone gave me these for free -- all 5 levels -- when I was trying to find a reading program for Maggie. I decided to try it, and it is a great program. Will also used it, and Meredith will be next in probably another month. |
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| Here are Will's books, but they include all my personal favorite curriculums: A Beka spelling, phonics and math; Saxon Math (Will's favorite subject is math, so I use both texts); Shurley Grammar; Primary Analogies; and Zaner-Bloser handwriting |
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| Other favorites: Latina Chrisiana Latin; Answers in Genesis earth and space science; Mystery of History |
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| Favorite references -- the thesaurus was mine in high school and still going strong |
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| Our children cannot be as geographically-challenged as I used to be, so we look at the map very often!! |
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| Our history time-line -- from Mystery of History Vol. 1; wonderful reinforcement. |
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And last but not least, I could never make it through a day without my Kroger French Roast, my reading glasses, and my Bible!
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