I'm REALLY doing this?

I can't believe I'm thinking what I'm thinking. I can't believe I'm doing what I've been doing lately to prepare. I can't believe August is almost here, 1st grade is almost here for our eldest, and that I'm recording my thoughts here on this new blog - about HOME SCHOOLING. We're homeschooling!!! Oh wow!!

If you had asked me about this 3-4 years ago, I would have laughed you off. Four years ago I was teaching high school at a Catholic high school and loving the atmosphere. I love school...notebooks, sharpened pencils, erasers, colored pencils and marker cases. School, school(s), are fantastic!! But, I've been learning in the last few years schooling can happen anywhere, and that excitement grow anywhere - even in the home.

Three years ago I witnessed homeschooling in my own home. One of my wonderful friends who had been homeschooling for years (I supported her 100% but thought it was never for us and laughed when she tried to convince me to think about it ) came to visit for a week, and brought her kids and their learning materials with them. I was able to watch them work together, look at her materials...and...the wheels in my head starting turning.

I made a flippant remark to Hubby about homeschooling, fully expecting him to chuckle too. To my surprise, he LOVED the idea of homeschooling. WHAT? Really? My Husband? I kept telling him "but what about Lovely and any future kids being socialized?" He reminded me my early years in school were mostly learning only, and my pals were in my extra curricular activities and music and I turned out beautifully. He was so spot on, I was rendered speechless LOL!! That was true! My wheels turned more. I then learned my next door neighbor/turned friend had future plans to homeschool her kids, and THEN I learned my church has a strong and bustling homeschool co-op. I then realized I was seeing REAL signs. I had something to pray about and research.

I love the idea of PreK, and Kindergarten (and yes, school). Being a certified teacher in grades 7-12 made me feel less confident to teaching the really young child the fundamentals - and Lovely was in PreK - so I decided I'd keep working on our plan while she finished PreK. The more I read, witnessed, and learned about homeschooling, the more I felt called to it. In talking to Hubby, we felt like we could be a homeschooling family - supporting each other on the journey. We had another daughter (Valiant) her last year of PreK, and Kindergarten seemed to be a good fit for Lovely. She could learn the basics and get to a point I'd feel better about taking over while having another baby. She had a GREAT year, but still - even she mentioned homeschooling (she's gotten to know a lot of families and friends doing it. She may not know fully what it is - but her asking makes me feel good about trying it and it being a family decision). Funny thing is that baby #3 came along pretty quickly too (Gift) - but blessedly for me, my desire to homeschool (wait...can I really admit the desire I had by this point? Yep...I think I can!) didn't wane. I was making friends in the co-op and seeing them and my neighbor homeschool with young kids kept my confidence up. Wee ones or not, we are going to give this a real shot!!

So, we find ourselves here...on the cusp of our first official year. I think all parents home school - those teachable moments, time together - it's schooling, in the home. Adding academics and life skills and new ways of thinking just makes it more official.

I still don't know what I'm doing. I'm doing a little of everything to figure it out. My sister has been a great resource as an Early Childhood teacher. I have my neighbor and my co-op and so many supportive friends. I will figure this out, step by step. I have started the book ordering process for homeschooling. I'll be taking a classical approach to learning (something Lovely and I both seem to learn from style wise) along with embracing other methods (Montessori, Waldorf based learning from Serendipity - especially for little Valiant as I work with her too - even at her age), Faber for music, and some Suzuki in music as well. I have a feeling we'll do a lot of "unschooling" as well! I just can't wait to give this a go. I like trying different methods because we're not all cut one way. My girls are into books, but they love imaginative play, fairy tales, and music. I also am seeing Lovely is quite the artist. So, I have a multi-faceted child(ren) and need to do different learning. We also want to include our faith and values. Just listing all that exhausts me....what am I getting into? LOL!! But, it's also been fun looking up places I want to take Lovely to for field trips and pricing passes, etc. I'm praying this is for us and we both enjoy it. So, that is a start and very small success I'm adding to this coming week.

Links that I have found helpful in our multi-faceted learning are: Why We Homeschool, an article by Sarah Reinhard about taking the plunge, About Homeschooling, Montessori, Suzuki, Waldorf, Montessori based Good Shepherd, Classical learning.

So, here we are - about to homeschool. I can't wait to blend faith, academics, family time, explorations, and discoveries together. I expect lots of great moments, and...well...struggles too. Maybe tears from me as well as 'mile wide' smiles. It's all in the tagline of my blog, under my title. It's going to be one heck of a ride - wanna join us on it?

In that vein - here are some pics from some adventures this summer in learning. I have some more, but I need to upload them. Below are some fun moments digging for "fossils" and exploring with the sisters...







PRAY for us. Pray for me. Blessings!

** I'm tired, a little sick, and well..tired. Please excuse any typos or fragments. I proofread this and I still know I missed things. I just needed to add my disclaimer!