As you can tell I rarely update this blog, but this seemed the appropriate place to put down my thoughts today.
Our Homeschool Journey – The Beginning
To preface this note I must give a huge THANK YOU to all the wonderful moms out there that have greatly influenced my parenting. Without your examples of God’s love & grace in parenting I cannot imagine being where I am now.
I am an Elementary Teacher by trade, so the idea of teaching my own children has never seemed ridiculous, but before I had children I envisioned staying home with my preschoolers and then teaching in their school when the youngest was old enough. But this vision always seemed to take place in a MUCH smaller school system than Manhattan. We moved to Manhattan when we were pregnant with our oldest & immediately I wondered about schooling. Even though my sister was homeschooling I didn’t think about it too seriously until the Manhattan district switched to full-day Kindergarten. I never looked at research as an educator about the pros and cons, I simply listened to my heart and I knew that full-day Kindergarten was not an option for our family. Paying for private school wasn’t an option, so off to a homeschool conference I went.
Wow was I excited! DeLaney was eager to learn and I was eager to teach. Unfortunately I really had no frame of reference to sort through all the curriculum options I saw at the conference. I did know that I really liked what my sister & nieces were doing with their curriculum and so I figured I couldn’t go wrong getting the same thing, so I jumped right in and purchased the My Father’s World Kindergarten curriculum.
At the point I planned to start MFW my oldest was 4 ½…then we discovered our 4th child was on the way and I was EXHAUSTED so schooling during naptime was no longer an option. Knowing K could wait another year if necessary I set MFW aside to start in the spring when I would hopefully be feeling better. Spring came & I started MFW and HATED IT! Let me clarify, the content was fine – good even (remember, I have seen the results in my nieces) – but my “teacher brain” was so frustrated by the setup and flow. Just a few weeks in I was ready to throw in the towel.
School went from this idyllic setting in my mind to a hodge-podge of randomness that I could find on the internet. I did borrow a phonics program from a friend – something her grandmother had put together - and I purchased the Singapore Math K books. Although there was nothing consistent about our lives, we continued to read together a lot and I inserted Phonics and Math with DeLaney semi-regularly until #4 arrived early summer.
After a summer break I knew something had to change for us to have a successful Kindergarten year for DeLaney. I had heard about the Heart of Dakota curriculum and it sounded great, but the price tag seemed daunting. Even though I had been able to sell MFW, I didn’t feel confident in purchasing more curriculum. Besides, how hard could it be to teach K? There were so many “free” resources online and I did have an Elementary Education degree! So, I borrowed the Five In A Row books from a friend and off we went! Uuuuuggggghhhh! I was spending so much time trying to find just the right thing to supplement what we were reading, and amazingly my daughter truly didn’t like reading the same book every day for a week! I felt, once again, like a failure. Maybe it wasn’t the curriculum…maybe it was me!
Now, I would love to say that I stopped and earnestly sought the Lord’s guidance at this point but that would be overstating the situation. I have seen the Lord’s faithfulness in this journey, but the twists and turns have been more from me thinking I am self-sufficient because of that silly degree. As I have realized more and more my inability to do any of the things I have been called to do – wife, mother, teacher, housekeeper, etc. – without God’s strength and direction homeschooling has become a clearer path. I am thankful the Lord has known the cry of my heart even when I felt I have inadequately expressed it.
So a few weeks back I mentioned at our homeschool mom’s group that I was interested in the Heart of Dakota preschool book – I thought the chaos of my preschoolers might benefit from the structure a bit, and I could continue with the phonics and math I had at DeLaney’s level and the year would progress neatly. This resource was sitting unused on another mom’s shelf so that night I brought it home.
My preschoolers didn’t care so much and it was too basic for DeLaney therefore our days were just as chaotic as before. At this point I really wanted to try the next Heart of Dakota book to see if it was the right level for DeLaney, so I mentioned this as the next mom’s meeting & sure enough this too was sitting unused on a shelf and I could borrow it! In fact, all but 2 of the supplemental books were available to me as well!
Day one of HOD and I knew this was where we were to be…the Enemy was fighting us all day! My baby & 2 yr old both cried more that day than usual and DeLaney had a terrible attitude. We prayed together and the attitude improved a little bit and we persevered through the crying which didn’t improve that day. The next day my 2 oldest were both super excited for school. Everyone loves the new format – especially me! I am able to walk into our school room, open the book and have MEANINGFUL lessons ready even if I was up all night with the little ones or feel buried beneath the housework.
Through this entire curriculum struggle I always wanted to sit and write down our goals/vision for homeschooling, but I never felt like I knew what to say. I think I knew what they “should be” but didn’t know exactly how to determine the Lord’s goals for us. My wonderful husband had great clarity. He had been listening and dialoguing with me over the past few years and he was able to clearly pull all the information down into 3 goals.
We are seeking to homeschool for the following 3 purposes:
Time: Our children are only small once and for a very short time. Our heart is to be with them in meaningful ways during these formative years. We also desire for our children to be good friends with each other which I believe is easier if they spend time together.
Education: We do not simply want a good education for our children, but the best education possible. We seek to have a well-rounded education that gives a firm foundation in not only academic areas but also their spiritual lives & basic home skills. For now this is facilitated best at home…may we seek the Lord for guidance each coming season.
Protection: Relying upon God for my children’s ultimate protection does not get me off the hook. God has given us as parents the responsibility to protect our children while leaving their futures firmly in God’s ultimate protection and control. For now we will seek to protect them from unnecessary influences and harm…for our family keeping them in our home for school is one way to accomplish this while they are so young.
I have been studying the book of Joshua in bible study recently & was challenged by the following verses: “Be strong and very courageous. Obey all the laws Moses gave you. Do not turn away from them, and you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed.” – Joshua 1:7-8
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