I am the mother to two.  A boy, Josh, who is 14 and getting ready to start his high school years; and a girl, Katie, who is 5 and just starting her learning adventures.  This will be my third year of home schooling, and I think I finally have a grasp of what I'm doing.  More importantly, I think I have a grasp of what God wants me to be teaching my kids.

I was VERY reluctant to begin the home school experience.  I actually had two neighbors in my block who were home schooling, and my son, who played with their children, was convinced he wanted to be home schooled.  I wasn't so easily convinced.  It took a couple years, and finally the agreement of my husband (who is my son's step dad), we began. 

The first year was a struggle. I had no clue what I was doing. I purchased a computer-based curriculum, scheduled it and let my son go to it. I have to admit I didn't keep up on my end as I should have. Luckily, I have a bright son, and despite his laziness, he did OK. He was tested, passed, and we moved on.

Year two went a little more smoothly.  We moved to a variety of book/workbook curricula, and I had more of a hand in how it went.  Still, I didn't feel like I was doing as well as I should have in keeping up.  Still, Josh is bright, he absorbed the information easily, and again, he tested well. 

Now, I have to mention that I did all this in conjunction with working at home. I had a business where I served as the executive director for a trade association. I did some traveling and spent some time out at meetings and coordinating tradeshows, but mostly I was home.  Still, it took my focus off the kids, and I really felt like I spread myself too thin.

Although I still have my own business, my husband has now joined me and works out of the home as well.  We've also switched gears, and we're now in the promotional marketing business.  Our understanding is that when we begin school again, I will be using the morning hours to spend with the kids while he's working, and the afternoons I will use to do some work.  I'm feeling MUCH better about the upcoming year... in fact, I'm actually a little excited. 

Does anyone else get excited when the new books come in? I know I can't be the only one. 

We're getting started again in August.  I know I'm looking forward to it a lot more than my kids are!!!

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Posted by floridasunsets

Your post made me think of all the different things we tried in the beginning, too. We'll be starting our 6th year and yes, for some reason, I am VERY excited about it! You sound like you've gotten yourselves more organized this year. That might have a lot to do with how excited you are. Good luck with everything, and may God bless you!

Betty
Galatians 6:9

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Posted by 5atkins

I am sure you will enjoy making many friends here who have similar experiences as you! I have known since my children were born that I would homeschool. I had two aunts who helped prepare me as they taught theirs K-12! All but 2 are through college now! It took a great deal of courage for you and your husband to do this after so many years of public school. Isn't God so good to us?! Is this Katie's first year in official school then? I love looking through curriculum catalogs, planning what I might use, and opening it up when it arrives! I am like a kid myself waiting for the UPS man to come! LOL
Anyway, I pray you have a great year and look forward to hearing from you! I will list you as a friend. In Him, Eva

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