Our First Week EVER

Just because we were finally at peace with the decision to homeschool didn't mean I felt like I was ready to homeschool. At all. Sometimes I would tell a friend we were homeschooling and she would reply, "Oh, well you'll be great because you were a teacher!" ... right... 

It took a very long time to decide what to do with the decision to homeschool. Were we going to be classical homeschoolers and treat homeschool like real school? Were we going to be unschoolers and just let the kids lead the way? Eclectic and use some of everything?

I knew I needed something because after teaching elementary art I knew that I couldn't handle putting together an entire curriculum on my own. As satisfying as it would be, I also have other things to do with my days like teach the kids, play with the kids, clean the house, make sure we have food to eat and clean clothes to wear, and, in general, maintain my sanity.

I had no idea how many options there were for curriculum. You could purchase a whole curriculum bundle, piece together different subjects, choose an online curriculum, spend a lot of money or find things for free.

I did a lot of research and in the end chose to purchase from Sonlight, choosing their Core A History and Literature and 1st grade reading. I bought Saxon Math because it seemed middle of the road. And because I want to plan some things myself I will do science and art on my own.

The biggest concerns I had were what to do with the almost-two-year-old and when to do what subjects. So I planned out a bunch of Letter of the Week activities and started a toy rotation. And I made a schedule that alternated learning and play and tried to put the intensive subjects at nap time.

And so we started our first week of homeschooling.

And it went really well. So well that the kindergartener was more than a little upset when she found out we will take weekends off from school.

I am still adjusting to the planning and prep and keeping things moving, so the last thing on my mind this week was documenting the learning that happened this week, but here are some of the things we did:

A is for Apple Printing

Apple Printing - 2 year old

Apple Printing - 5 year old

Primary Color Mixing - 2 year old

Primary Color Mixing - 5 year old

Why We Chose to Learn at Home

The decision to homeschool was not one I ever expected to make.

Oddly, I can think back to a conversation I had with my husband years ago, shortly after we first met, while discussing hypothetical kids. He nonchalantly suggested that I would be so good at homeschooling our kids and I am fairly certain my response was a combination of hilarious laughter and mortification that he would even suggest that I would want to continue spending my entire day with my children past the age of five.

Even two years ago when we decided we needed a bigger house, we only searched for homes within our local school district as it was the best of the best and we didn't want anything less for our kids. Public school was that important.

But as our oldest approached kindergarten, public school seemed less the "thing" to do. In fact, there were so many negatives to sending her to kindergarten that it became the only thing we wouldn't do.

The first dilemma was her birthday. She is mid-October and the cut off is December 1st, meaning we would be sending our four year old to full-day kindergarten. While she was academically ready, emotionally she was nowhere near ready to spend an entire day away from home. Especially with 20+ other children and only one adult that wouldn't be able to provide the one-on-one attention she would need.

The second issue was the change we've seen in public schools over the years. Larger class sizes, common core and an increase in standardized testing furthered our resolve that public school was not the place to send our kids.

So we began the search of local private schools. Some were large, some were tiny, with just a few students per class. Some were expensive and some were "affordable" (if that term can be used for the insane amount of money any of the schools require for tuition). Some were cutting edge and some were reminiscent of my days at what used to be public school. But for all our searching, the school we loved was far beyond the stretch of our wallets and the schools we could afford didn't seem worth paying for.

Enter the homeschooling option.

I read, and read, and read, and read. I joined online forums and groups. I tried to find local families who homeschool. And I weighed our options. Not just the options for our children- public, private or home, but the options for me too- if I chose to homeschool and we loved it and wanted to continue through our children's entire school career, it would mean forfeiting any chance of regaining a career myself. And could I do it? Could I teach my children everything they need to know and not burn myself out by adding school to my growing list of Mommy-Jobs?

The pros of homeschooling, as I saw it, began to far outweigh the cons. I want to choose what they learn. I want to be available when they need help- with any kind of problem. I want them to have time to play. I want them to have time to sleep. I want them to enjoy learning. I want them to enjoy socializing with kids and adults of all ages. And as much as I never imagined I would feel this way, I want my kids home with me all day, even past the age of five.

So here we are. Embarking on this new and exciting chapter of our lives together, schooling at home.