Homeschooling a Houseful

Jonathan at age 2, the year 1999

6/21/1999

One of the first decisions we made regarding Jonathan's care was to not take advantage of the "free" government programs available.  Why--well first of all we feel that God has called us to homeschool our children, that we are to be the primary influence in our children's lives and we didn't think that because Jonathan has Down syndrome that we should compromise that value.  In fact our instinct was telling us that protecting him from other influences was going to be even more important.  Another reason had to do with the fact that in the research we were doing to learn all that we could about Down syndrome I read that Down syndrome costs the taxpayers a lot of money and therefore Down syndrome should be prevented.  Well, we certainly knew that it can't be prevented, just killed through abortion.  We decided that Jonathan would not cost the government any money, if at all possible.  We don't know how realistic it may be for the long run, but our goal is to keep the government out of our family. 

We also decided that we would not put any labels or limits on Jonathan.  We are taking things one day at a time, doing the next thing and not worrying about assessments. 

Today Jonathan is 2 1/2 years old.  What a delight and joy he is to all of us.  He is saying a few words: dada and mama, ba (which means ball, his favorite game to play).  Po means pooh (as in Winnie the) and bo means books which he loves.

Jonathan has a great understanding of what we say to him.  We are constantly amazed at how well he understands us.

He is able to so some simple signs.  When he sees a car or we talk about driving he does the sign for car.  He signs please, thank you and yes.  He does the sign for mommy and puppy.  All of these signs he does not do exactly the way they are supposed to be done, he does them the best he can and is very consistent.  We continually use the signs with him correctly and as his motor development improves we have seen some signs change to be closer to what they are supposed to be.

He has been crawling on all fours for awhile now, and boy does he move fast.  He started moving along the floor by pulling himself with his arms shortly before his first birthday.  Now he pulls himself to standing, climbs on and off the furniture and walks holding our hands or cruising along the furniture.  He can stand up on his own from the floor and loves to practice standing.  One thing we have noticed about Jonathan, he works very hard and is very proud of himself when he is doing something new.

Here are some photos from Jonathan's first years.

In the hospital, Jonathan is 4 days old.

This is my wonderful husband...he looks so young.

Still in the hospital, Jonathan is 8 days old.

Here is our big boy growing up.  This is October of 1997 and Jonathan is 10 months old.

Here Jonathan is 3 1/2 years old.  We were doing school and it seemed awful quiet.  He had climbed into the bathtub to play with toys. 

He looks so happy!

9:27 AM, Jun. 3, 2006 .. Posted by JenneinAZ

Your Jonathan looks so happy and full of life. Hooray for happy middles! I am sure his story isn't over yet and you have a close up seat to the joy he can bring to the world. I am sure you are very proud.

JenneinAZ

What a Cool Story!

1:08 PM, Jun. 3, 2006 .. Posted by Anonymous

Oh, Liz,

What an incredible story! I have really enjoyed reading it! I love all of the steps and processes the Lord took you through to prepare your hearts to receive such a precious gift. He is absolutely adorable!
I was telling Durenda last night that you were sharing his story on your blog and she told me what a sweet boy he is and how cute.
I am honored at having the privilege of reading your story.

I'll be watching for more!

Thank you and blessings to you,
Jana

What an amazing story

10:25 PM, Jun. 7, 2006 .. Posted by Sweetie

Thank you for sharing it in such detail. My son was born with a heart condition. We didn't know about it before his birth, but he, too, came early and it was amazing to see all the little details that God put together - in so many ways that no one else could have orchastrated. God is truely an amazing God.