I found more treasures while reading random blogs this morning!  lol  I found the Open House here  http://homeschoolblogger.com/tiany  What a fabulous way to get a peak inside others "school rooms"  It is good timing for me anyway, since it hit me last night that some of you may be wondering where the rest of my large family is since I only talk about the youngest four regularly.  So grab a cold beverage and settle in for a minute to meet the rest of my family.

You know a bit about me, Heather, already.  I am currently a SAHM to four, with another boy due in December.  I am married to my sweetheart Brad for 13 years this month.  Brad works in Aerospace.  Our oldest son is Patrick.  He is 21 and was married to Jeanette in March.  They are now expecting a baby boy.  Patrick was homeschooled from 8th-12th grade, and has decided for now not to continue his education, much to our dismay.  Our second son, Cameron, is 19.  He lives in NC with his dad (my first husband).  He was homeschooled from 5th-10th grade, and then finished his high school education through an alternative school, graduated in June.  He starts college in the fall, with a goal of working with computers.  Allyson is the princess, she is 17 years old and beginning her senior year.  She has been homeschooled since 4th grade.  She stays very busy with music lessons (bass guitar), horsemanship, softball, church, and whatever else strikes her fancy at that moment.  She plans on starting at the community college this year, and eventually transferring to U of D and majoring in Marine Biology.

Then we have the younger crowd, who have never been inside a traditional classroom.  Jayson is 9 and beginning 4th grade.  He loves to read, write, draw, play baseball, swim, and is incredibly witty.  Dalton is 7 and in the 2nd grade.  He is more of the outdoors type, wants to be out riding his bike most days.  He also plays baseball and swims.  He is a definite leader in the making.  Both boys are also involved in Cub Scouting.  The current baby is Landon.  He just turned 2 in July and keeps us amused with his growing vocabulary and physical skills.  He is just so fun to have around.  Last but certainly not least is our unnamed baby boy, due in 19 weeks.

We did not set out to be homeschoolers.  In fact, I was very much in favor of traditional classroom education.  I was very involved at my childrens schools, serving as room mom, belonging to the PTA/ PTSA, staying in contact with their teachers.  Despite my desire for them to succeed and my efforts in that direction, it wasn't a good fit for my oldest two boys.  Both were academically gifted, in the GATE program, but neither was thriving in a classroom situation.  Patrick was the classic daydreamer, he had (still has) trouble staying on task, meeting deadlines, being organized.  He lived for books and stories which adds an interesting twist to things.  Taking away a library doesn't seem quite as sensible as taking away a gameboy when expectations aren't met!  lol  Camerons issues were more social.  He struggled very much to fit in with his peer group, and was very angry as a result.  The school didn't know how to help either boy since their gifted status precluded much of the assistance the school could give.  In the end a very wise teacher who was familiar with both of my sons pulled me aside and asked if I had ever considered homeschooling.  At the point he did that, I had been researching it for a few months and that is the nudge it took to push me over the edge.

As many long time homeschoolers will tell you, our reason and goals for homeschooling change over the years.  Originally, my goal was to provide my sons with an education that met their needs.  Then Columbine happened, and safety became a secondary reason.  Then my children became teens and realized how strong the worldy influence inside schools is, so I added that to a list.  As my younger childre were born, I realized how very young and impressionable they are at 5 years old and couldn't imagine sending them off all day to school.  Some of the old reasons come back around.  Jayson, like Patrick, is very imaginative so I can see him having the same struggles as his brothers.  In the end though, none of those reasons matter when I see my children happy and thriving, at home.

As far as educational style, we have come full circle.  Our first year home I bought packaged curriculums from Calvert and Oak Meadow and about lost my mind trying to school 3 different grades at the same time while chasing a toddler.  We pretty quickly learned about grouping them together for subjects that worked that way, and about unit studies.  We have dabbled in Charlotte Mason, Thomas Jefferson Education, The Well Trained Mind, and any number of other philosophies.  Along the way, we kind of found our own way, somewhere between structured homeschooling and unschooling.  This years curriculum is listed on the sidebar.  To that we add a heavy dose of field trips and co-ops, and just kind of go where the year leads us.  We definitely lean to the less structured side of things.

I think that is pretty much our homeschool in a nutshell.  Maybe a bit more than you bargained for when you sat down!  lol  I hope that our story maybe triggers something in your family that will help along your journey.