Homeschooling has begun!

Despite the denial I was feeling for weeks before the big day, it came. I have begun Homeschooling Josiah.

To give a little background, about a year ago, when Josiah was 4, Shane and I begun talking about what we would do for school with Josiah. I just always assumed we'd put him in a public school because we can't afford private and thre was no way I was Homeschooling. As we sat down to talk, Shane began mentioning how he would like it if I could Homeschool him. My exact thought in my head was, 'Um, yeah, I'm not doing that!'. But I continued to listen patiently to him, thinking that it was a nice thought he had but it wasn't going to happen.

But things began to change. Well, God changed things. I thought that if it was something Shane was bringing up, and it was on his heart, then I should pray about it. Within a matter of a couple of weeks, God had done a complete change in my heart. I started to not only be okay with giving Homeschooling a shot, but I actually really wanted to do it and was super excited about the opportunity to do so.

The research, Homeschooling convention, talking to other Homeschooling families and continual prayer started. That process felt overwhelming to me. Do we teach independently, go through a school, what do we do? The options, though there weren't too many, seemed endless.

Just when I thought we'd go through a certain school, God (through a friend's encouragement) got my attention that I was only going that route for the money. Though, that may not be a bad thing in many situations, in this one it was not the way I needed to go about it. With the free money option, it left me without being able to pick my curriculum, going on field trips & play dates that were in a completely different city which would feel very far away and cost a lot of gas money, etc. When I let go of the money, and trusted God that He would provide for whatever materials we needed, I had a great peace.

So, I had to really re-evaluate why I was Homeschooling Josiah. It came down to wanting to be able to invest in him...his character, education, personality, etc. We had already found great resources we wanted to use, and I liked the flexibility idea of me just doing it on my own instead of having to go by what a school was telling me.

That's how we came to the conclusion to just Homeschool independantly. Once we decided that, I felt very peaceful about it. I'm real thankful that we figured out a plan that works for our family.

Here's what most of our days will look like:

7:45 Bible time with Josiah

8:00 Breakfast

8:20 Piano practice

8:40 Character Study (kindness, obedience, patience, etc.)

9:00 Bible verse

9:05 Months of the year, Days of the week, Seasons

9:10 # of the week

9:15 Math

9:25 Letter of the week

9:30 Writing

9:40-10 Reading

Today was our first try at this. It seemed to go by fast and it was a lot of fun. Taking a few minutes to learn something and then move on, was great! We weren't spending a lot of time drilling one thing. For example, this week, we're learning to write the letter 'S'. He traced it about 6 times and wrote it himself another 6. That was it for letters. Next week we'll add in another letter and also write 'S' a few times to keep him up on it.

I have a few fears, that I know are normal and understandable. One, is just how Josiah and I relate to eachother. I need to make sure that later in our day is some fun and play time, so that Mommy doesn't just become a teacher role. Another is my patience with him. Patience is one of my weakest character qualities and it is something I have to rely on God to grow in me. Something else, is Josiah wants to give up easily if he thinks he can't do something. This will require my patients, and also me helping him understand that even if he doesn't do it right or perfectly, it's okay. We'll work on it. The last thing that may pose a problem is entertaining Meghan during these 2 hours of school. I think she'll have fun just being there with us, coloring or painting while we're doing school. She can join in on some 'writing' time as I give her dry-erase markers to play on the white board with. She loves having reading time with us too.

I'm so thankful that God laide Homeschooling on Shane's heart and that He guided me into the decision as well.

Pictures!

Mother's Day at Lucille's for dinner and dessert.

Playing soccer with AYSO.

At The Children's Museum dressed up as a Police Officer.

His first piano lesson :).

Being silly at the beach.

In mommy's sunglasses :).

Loving her shopping cart she got for her birthday.

Hunting for eggs at Easter.

Pushing her baby in a stroller around the mall :).

Giving her brother kisses!

Ahhhh!!! Brother & Sister!

I found them like this on our couch. I can't believe she got a pillow & blanket too :). They're too funny.

Out for a Family Movie Night.

Meghan and Shane.

Me and Josiah at Disneyland.

Shane and Josiah racing through a bounce house. Josiah caught air!

On the carousel at Disneyland.

Those are some pictures of what has been going on in our lives over the last several months.

It's been a while

I haven't blogged in 9 months! It hasn't really been on my mind. Life has been very busy. Between church stuff, fun classes for the kids through the city, Disneyland passes, Homeschooling research, doctors visits, and I'm sure much more, I just haven't had the time or brain power to blog.

We celebrated Meghan's 2nd Birthday in January at McDonalds with her cousins and family. Josiah turned 5 in April and he had a 'Jake and The Neverland Pirates' party (from Disney). It is wonderful watching my kids grow up and seeing the things they're into lately.

Josiah:

*He just started piano lessons with Shane. He's had 1 lesson so far, but likes it a lot.

*He just ended his first soccer league through AYSO. Though our overall experience wasn't the best, Josiah still had a good time. He even scored 2 goals!

*He is really into hearing Bible stories and learning about characters in the Bible. I love it! Shane is great at sitting down and telling him about people in the Bible that we can learn from.

*He got a scooter for his birthday and loves riding it.

*His tonsils are HUGE! They got that way during the 2 times he had strep throat a few months ago. We got them checked out and they're a '3' out of '4'. So, the doctor said he would pull them if he wanted us to, but right now he'd like to wait since he doesn't have sleep apnea. We're still thinking about what to do. I hear it's better to take them out as kids than when they're adults.

Meghan:

*She wants to sing with us at bedtime now instead of us just singing to her. She actually hits some correct notes in there a lot of times.

*She really wants to pray by herself...which is adorable. So, she repeats after us.

*She's taking a really long time to go to sleep at bedtime. I might need to start putting her down for a nap earlier. Bed time is at 8, but she's still up there talking & singing past 9.

*She's answering back when cartoons on tv ask her questions...'Do you like balloons?'...she respond, 'yes' :).

Here's Us:

*February marked our 10 years together! That blows my mind. We've been together since we were teenagers. How fun that is! It was been the best experience to marry my best friend and watch eachother grow and change and do life together! In August, we'll have been married for 8 years :).

*Shane just started his new position at work. We are grateful for it! Though it does not come with a pay increase, it got him away from sitting behind a desk. He is now a field technician, so he drives around and installs and fixes computers for his company. He likes it.

*Shane has been playing the bass in the band at church, which he just picked up 3 days before he was asked to play. That just amazes me! He still plays the keyboard some Sundays as well. The talent, I tell you!

*I helped with our church's Women's Conference again this year. That is always a great experience to help with an event that brings women together where they can learn about how to follow God better.

*I was trained in leading a Women's Small Group last month. At first, the experience was nerve wracking for me as I felt at a loss. But, God really helped me to rely on Him and relax as I led the discussion for woman. He came through!

*We'd like to have another baby, and are waiting on God's timing with that.

*A few months ago, we spent over $400 on doctor's visits in 6 weeks. The sickness kept being passed around an it just wouldn't end!!!

*We're trying to decide what to do this Summer with the kids and also our Anniversary. I'm really looking forward to spending time together!

*The biggest thing on our minds right now is Homeschooling.

Homeschooling!...Not something I would have ever imagined myself doing. When Shane and I started to discussing it a little over a year ago, I was expecting him to say, 'We'll put him in the nearest public school to us'. I knew we couldn't afford a Private School and Homeschooling was the farthest thing from my mind. In fact, to be honest, I knew I would never homeschool my kids. It didn't appeal to me in the slightest. But, when Shane brought up the idea that he'd like us to think about it, I did what I knew I needed to: PRAY!!! I thought that if it was something on Shane's heart, I need to see if it is something God wants me to do. As it turns out, He wants me to do it! Boy, have I had a heart change. In a matter of a few months, I went from hating the idea of homeschooling, to now being genuinly excited about it. I'm excited because I get to continue to spend the day with Josiah, teaching him, shaping him, getting to know him more and spending time with him. School will be done in aprox. 1 1/2 hours and we'll have the rest of the day to do whatever we want. So, now we're in the process of researching curriculum and organizations to go through. It's really important to us to keep Josiah involved in things that will still get him around other kids and adults. So, we'll find a place to go through that offers field trips and possibly a class a week for him to build relationships with other Homeschooled kids.

That's all for now :). I'll post some pictures of what has been going on in our lives in another blog.