This is a silly little blog just to say i am LOVIN' IT!

Since Julia was a tiny babe Joe and I have both wanted to hometeach our children. Just seems to make sense that as the military life brings such constant change in thier lives, the fact that school is always with mom no matter where we move would be nice to have. Plus, i just love teaching my kids. I think every parent does this instinctually since the birth of thier baby. You read to them. You sing to them. You answer thier questions and ask them questions back, "yes, that is a carrot. they are vegetables and keep our bodies healthy...do you know what color it is?" plus i really really love watching thier faces light up with they "get it", and watching them bloom with self confidence and reassurance that comes with learning is just an extra boost as well! it is awesome...but it is also a huge responsibility. to be honest, although i have known the last 5 years we wanted to try hometeaching, and that i myself was hometaught my elementary years, IT IS STILL SCARY!

i have been really really really nervous! It is such a big responsibility, and what if i don't do it right? what if i do it wrong and handicap thier learning more than helping them? what if i miss something, or don't do a certain subject right? what curricullums do i use and what if we run into stumbling blocks??

yeah, nervous to say the least.

but still God's peace would remain. He'd lead me to different websites with resources that seemed to "fit" our family...and to different other homeschooling families to encourage us...i think one of the biggest peices of reassurement I heard was that we don't have to decide here at kindergarden if we are going to homeschool all the way through highschool. but rather, and probably better, to take it year by year, child by child to the Throne of Grace and ask for God's guidance....

Because I don't know what next year or 4 years from now may hold for Julia, or for Megan, or for Joey. I don't know if there may come a time that a public or private school may be exactly where they need to be for that year...but my good Father does know. He knows all circumstances, where their hearts will be, their strengths and weaknesses for each of those years for each child, He knows!! He knows the right curriculums for each subject for each child for each year, and has all the resources I need to teach His children. He is there, and as long as I remain open, as long as I remain honest within myself and submitted to Him in each step, I can't go wrong. I seriously can't go wrong!

So Busy Bees Montessorie school (where the girls went 2 hours a day twice a week last year) finally ended this last week. Joe would like to keep Megan in at the same schedule for next year, but since Julia is now 5, she has "graduated" and would either attend DoDs schools on base, A british Primary school, or be full time hometaught next year. As thier "school year" at Busy Bees grew to a close, my knees seemed to shake just a bit more...

so I have 6 weeks before school starts again and decided to try some "dry runs" to see how we'd do. I pulled out some "3-5 years preschooler" level workbooks i'd had for ages, blew the dust off and introduced them to the girls...don't you know they took to it like fish to water?!

THEY LOVE IT!

i have never been so surprised and proud and pleased and excited and relieved all at once!

So we do "school" everyday now. at my home! on my kitchen table, and we love it! In my pj's, in thier pj's, it doesn't matter! I let them work at thier own pace and we stop when one of us gets tired...(although it has yet to be them first! i usually am the one calling for break first lol!) Just yesterday Julia did 18 pages nonstop! and would have kept going if my eyes hadn't started to go crosseyed lol. We went out to dinner with joe and they wanted to bring the book with us, so I did, and they together did another 6 pages while we waited for our meal...

and I am just amazed at how easy it is..

and how much they love it,

and how capable they are already...

Next time i am out i need to pick up a "kindergarden/1st grade" book as Julia is just flying through this one.

and at the end of the day, the goal is being accomplished....They are becoming self learners, they are learning to LOVE learning and that is is fun and easy and school is something to look forward to, not to dread! and that's all I want to do...is teach them they can do it, teach them how to research when they have questions and that nothing is out of thier grasp or too difficult for them.

the nervousness has gone and peace has replaced it...and not just peace, but a true sense of excitement.

We're really doing this...! and i am really loving it.