Homeschool Beginnings

Well, we just wrapped up our first two weeks of homeschool with Cora (5) starting Kindergarten and Eden (2) dabbling in a little bit of preschool. Overall, the transition has not been too bad. Our first day was wonderful - everyone was excited to start and enthusiastic for each new activity.

 

 Day two brought a little dose of reality....

 

Of course we had to take the classic First Day of School photos like all other families sending their children to Kindergarten.

But let's be real, people. We all know that it takes about 50 photos that look like THIS to get one that you can actually use....

 When we first started telling people that we were planning to homeschool, we got mixed responses. I had several friends say "Ohhhh, I could never do that." Some were concerned about socialization for the kids and free time for me. And then others were 100% supportive. We chose to homeschool for many reasons, but the first is definitely what drove our decision. Here are just a few of the reasons we started this journey.

1. We felt strongly that God was leading us to start our children's schooling at home. I resisted for awhile, because it's a huge responsibility. He confirmed it time and time again and gave me the peace to walk in this decision.

2. I have known deep in my heart since I was young that my greatest dream was to be a wife and mother and to raise a family. While I would do many other important things in my life, this was my primary calling. Homeschooling fits with this God given vision.

3. We want to inspire a love for learning in our children through hands on exploration, spontaneous learning and a flexible schedule rather than having them sit in a classroom for 8 hours a day.

4. We want to tailor our kids education to their individual learning styles, personalities and strengths.

5. We want to spend these important years pouring into our children and foster an environment where their relationship with Christ can flourish and the fruit of that relationship is displayed in their character.

The decision on where and how to educate your children is a very personal one, and there are so many factors that have to be considered. I have no judgement towards families who make a different choice than we have. I'm not sure how long we will homeschool...it may be for one year, or for their entire education. All I know is that we are following the Lord's leading, taking it one day at a time, and we have had a pretty great start so far.