Homeschooling

I was the one who always thought homeschooling was NUTS!!  I was the one who said, "Never, would I do that!"

God has a sense of humor! When you tell him your plans, I can imagine him laughing with one of those full on belly laughs and thinking "stubborn child".  Jeremiah 29:11 states that 'He knows the plans He has made for me....."  No where in there does it state, the plans I have made for myself.  Which is ok, because His plans are always so much better!

Well when we moved to California (another thing that we said we would NEVER do) my middle child begged to be home schooled.  I couldn't understand why she would want to do that.  She is my most social child out of the bunch.  She is a leader. She is also the one we butt heads with the most often. :)  Who was she going to have to boss around if she stayed home with me all day? If she was thinking it was going to be me or her little brother, she had another think coming :)

Of  course the questions flooded my mind.  Am I going to ruin my child? What we would do all day? Can I even do that? What legally can I do? How would she make friends?

Once we signed our 1 year rental agreement we found out that they were planning on selling the home at the end of our agreement.  We would not have the $425,000 to purchase that home so we would be moving.  Which meant a new school, again, in one more year.  So....I said yes to homeschooling for 1 year only.

I knew one person who had home schooled all 4 of her children.  Someone who I respected and who's children I loved.  I remember calling her and asking for advice.  You know the one thing she said not to do? "Do not say you will do it for just 1 year" Great, I already messed up.  I understood what she was saying though.  That first year really is all about learning for you. How do you teach? How do your children learn? Curriculum choices can cause your head to spin, there are so many.  Picking through all of that takes time.

Needless to say we are on our 7th year of homeschooling.  Little brother has never gone to public school.  This next year for high school my middle daughter will go off to the same charter high school that her sister graduated from.  I will miss having her home with me.  The growth we have had through this experience has been wonderful and I am so blessed for not just doing it for 1 year.