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Jan. 8, 2006
I Was Never Going to Get Married
...or have children. I was going to be an artist and live my life my own way. So, how did I end up here? I was blindsided, that's how. First, the Lord brought Handsome into my life (we weren't Christians then) and used him to slowly bring me to Him. Then, we decided that children would be a blessing, not the curse that my upbringing led me to believe. Then, when I brought Rayman home from the hospital, I fell in love and knew I didn't want to part with him for anything. My life was completely turned around. I continued to work because of my benefits, but when PoPo was born (5 years later), it stopped being cost-effective to continue working, so I finally quit. That is a story for another time.
So, when did we know we wanted to homeschool? When my 18 month old was "teaching" other kids in his home-daycare what the letters of the alphabet were. He, like me, has a late birthday. We knew he would have been starting Kindergarten at almost 6 and he would be bored to tears. We were concerned that he, being a bored boy, would be labeled ADD and we would be having a battle with the school system from the get-go. So, we started exploring the homeschooling option quite early. I was excited when I found friends that were already homeschooling and learned quite about about it before we ever started on this journey. By the time we started, I felt like a homeschooling expert already, HAHH!!
PoPo was born 1 day after Rayman turned 5. We were also in the process of moving, so we were not prepared to "officially" homeschool that year, by a long shot. So, we just continued to do what we had always done and just read whatever he wanted to read. He was quite good and didn't need much help from me. At this time, I was more concerned about what curriculum I wanted to use. I was at a loss as most of the curriculums I was looking at didn't recommend their products until about 3rd or 4th grade. What was I to do in the meantime?
The answer came from a Crosswalk.com homeschooling e-newsletter. This particular article recommended Ambleside Online for those who need to start right away, while they sort through their options. I checked out the site and fell in love with everything about this Charlotte Mason education. I have been using their curriculum ever since and I am enjoying the rich education that we are all getting through it. I have recently added a publication to the mix that supplements our curriculum very nicely. It is called "The Home Educator's Tutor". This quarterly magazine is a wonderful resource that is so packed with information, I can't do it justice here. It covers a wide variety of "extras" that can often be left out of a Charlotte Mason curriculum for lack of time or planning. Each magazine includes a CD that contains all the foldk songs, hymns and composer study pieces needed for the term.
We have now been doing this for 3-1/2 years and I'm still learning how this all works. My motives for homeschooling have changed over the years. When we first started, we were convinced that the public school system wasn't going to be a good fit for Rayman. Over the years, we have come to the conclusion that the public school system isn't a right fit for anyone, especially Christians. That isn't to say we go around telling everyone that they shouldn't put their children into the system. We understand that each family has to do what they think is best for them. We also have come around to the belief that the family is the most important institution and that it should always come first. The last step in our homeschooling journey is to bring Handsome home to be a part of it all instead of on the sidelines.
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Jan. 8, 2006 - Untitled Comment
May you continue to be blessed!
TNMOM