Homeschool Days

Of the many decisions we have to make as parents, I think education is absolutely one of the hardest. Once Graham was approaching Kindergarten age, I felt the anxiety creeping up. He had gone to a little church preschool for 2 years. I was overwhelmed, lonely, and probably somewhat depressed and this son and I tend to need some space from one another. So, we made the best decision at the time and Graham spent 2 years at our wonderful, little, local public school. His first grade teacher was especially amazing and G thrived on the structure in a classroom, learning and playing well.

But high quality education is very important to Behn and I. We were both extremely blessed by Christian and private education in our childhoods. Public school can, of course, be high quality in many ways. They have resources and teachers with gifts that I do not have- true blessings and wonderful teachers! But let me provide what I mean by 'high quality.' Everyone has different priorities, but for me, I prize education that...

-honors and teaches about our great God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Triune God of the Bible)
-instills a love for deep and meaningful stories
-emphasizes nature and our place in and care of creation
-allows for creativity and free play
-enjoys a learning of world and cultural history
-teaches responsibility in life, home, and learning

My 'practice' homeschool year with Patrick was a wonderful experience. This was while G was in 1st grade, and the one-on-one time with Patrick in our Classical Conversations community gave me the vision and confidence I needed to consider homeschooling for both my older boys. And then we moved.

Moving gave us such a fresh start. A new home, a new church, new friends, new neighborhood. I did not want to add 'new school' to the mix, especially since one of my children greatly struggles with change and transitions. This was the perfect opportunity to give homeschooling a real try. We joined our local CC community, where I was roped into tutoring (haha!) and, well, here we are.

It is so hard. I won't sugarcoat it. The child that I've struggled with continues to be the child that stretches me the most. Samuel is a busy and trying distraction (which is why he's going to start pre-school 2 mornings/week next month). The days are long and loud and I'm worn thin from being together so much. Self-care has been hard. Some days the grace abounds and some days I crawl to the finish line. We're all still transitioning, really.

But I do feel a rhythm. There is progress. The boys love learning, even if they do constantly compete and rival one another. We have so enjoyed learning about the Roman Empire together, reading all of the Winnie the Pooh stories aloud, and nature journaling.  I catch them humming history sentences and recalling Bible stories and geography that we studied together, The boys are amazing at math, and Patrick, who would be in Kindergarten in PS, has been promoted to 1st grade. Graham's reading is finally gaining ground and Patrick is also reading now. Oh, it is so fun to see him read a book and know that I taught him to do that. Watching their brains work is a privilege. We've also made wonderful Christian homeschool friends- true peers for the boys that I have loved getting to know. I've made sweet friends, too. That's the beauty of the homeschool family.

We are also able to work together on household responsibility, which before ended up getting ignored in the rush of before-and-after school hours. They make their beds daily, unload the dishwasher, and set the table. I remind them that we are "Team Trader" and we work together.

So, this is what this looks like this year. We will pray about each year, each child and make decisions at that time. I definitely do not believe there is one right way for education. G really did thrive in a structured class environment, and I could see that for him in years to come. But for now, I'm grateful for the privilege of time together (even if it does seem like TOO MUCH time together! Ha!)

I have much more to say- this is just a little overview- but I wanted to write up something to process all of this. Glory to God for His grace and provision during this season.






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