Homeschooling was a dream of mine when I first became pregnant. I would relish in the stories of moms who felt called to homeschool their children and how their children advanced throughout the process. I loved the idea of exploring a child’s interest and tailoring their education accordingly. My husband, however did not enjoy the idea and would emphasize his desires for our sons to be apart of a traditional school setting.
During Luke’s preschool years we decided upon a lovely private Christian school. Our first year was phonominal. We had an amazing teacher that Luke truly loved. He was learning and growing and I thought perhaps this is the best place for him to be after all. The following year we sent him back, but this year was a lot more challenging than the year prior. Luke started to regress in some areas and the academic pressure really started to create a barrier between Luke and learning. By the end of the year we had to make a decision to either push him forward or take a moment to look into other options.
My husband and I where at a crossroads and neither of us knew exactly what move to make. So we prayed and continued gathering information. We needed Luke to have curriculum that we believed in. I am a firm believer of learning through play which is how kids brains are structured. Unfortunately due to the many academic requirements imposed, many schools are forgoing these methods and adopting typical school practices even in the lower grades. The more information we gathered the more limited our options became. This left one choice, homeschool. As we prayed about what was best for Luke my husband’s heart began to soften and he was starting to feel homeschool could really benefit our son. One of my good friends happened to be a personalized learning teacher for a charter school/ homeschool organization. God was opening the doors and making this transition seamless. As we finalized how we wanted to start homeschool we decided to pair up with a charter/homeschool co-op. Once enrolled I knew I wanted to teach Luke from the same ciriculum he had been taught at his private school; which, was a mixture of Abeka and Bob Jones. I personally didn’t click with the Bob Jones curriculum so I ordered the Abeka K-5 student and teacher kits.
Through his charter we are given a budget that goes to further his education. So I was able to get all the other needed materials without having to blow my personal budget. Once we got everything together the teaching came to me pretty effortlessly and my son’s abilities started to flourish once again. Within a few months of homeschooling my sons knew how to count 1-10, counting by twos, identifying missing numbers, as well as grasping the concept of counting to 20’s, 30’s and so on. They know odds and even numbers and why a number is categorized as such. We are exploring fractions, telling time and money identification/ value. They know their alphabet/ letter sounds as well as their vowels. They are beginning to identify which vowels are in what words. They are learning continents and what animals live on each one. They are getting to know geography and identifying states on the map. This is all just scratching the surface on what we’ve learned thus far.
We have also had the privledge of going on several academic trips. Furthering their love and interest for learning! This experience so far has been amazing and so rewarding. My kids are truly progressing and it’s incredible to watch. As a stay at home mom I am inspired by how homeschool blends into our lives. It is time consuming, yes! But, it’s also very freeing. We begin our mornings with breakfast followed by the Bible (I use The Story Book Bible) than we do our pledge of allegiance to the flag followed by our calendar. Than we begin our lesson plan. I break up the day by going outside to play (just like a recess at school) or snack/ lunch. An average day will begin at 9 AM and end by 2 PM or so. The cool part of homeschool is you’re truly teaching/ learning all day, because you’re able to implement the lessons in creative ways while outside or doing everyday things at home.
Homeschooling has always been a personal dream that I had for our family and now it’s a dream we are living out to the fullest! I couldn’t be happier where God has us right now and seeing the boys development further to new heights has been rewarding beyond words. This mama’s heart is beaming with joy and I am honored to be able to have the time and resources to embark on this journey together!
Hugs,
Julie Black
Faith Based Heart by Julie Black 