Figuring Out How to Homeschool

Once the decision to homeschool was made, I got hit by a wave of excitement and pure panic. What was I thinking?! How could I possibly take my sweet baby girl’s future into my hands and do a good job educating her while still balancing my writing career? I had experience as a classroom teacher. I knew how to take the curriculum that was provided and follow lesson plans. I even knew how to create my own units using extra educational materials… but I had no idea how to homeschool. Not to mention the fact that we live on a very small budget and I knew we couldn’t afford expensive programs and curriculum.

I am a messy person. My desk is an avalanche of notes, papers, staplers (I think I have three), notepads, sharpies and various other schtuff. I have never missed a deadline, but I am rarely early with one. I am easily distracted, silly and hardly someone you would expect to be able to balance three full-time jobs. (We opened the Compassion in Action Center the same year we started homeschooling… more on that later.) I am, however, an excellent researcher, so I started researching.

I fully believe that knowledge is power, so I went to the most powerful person I know in this area: My sister, who was currently homeschooling three children while balancing two-year old twins at the same time. She gave me the best advice I have ever gotten and started me in just the right direction. She said, “Forget everything you know about education and curriculum. There are so many options available to you that you shouldn’t box yourself in with what you have used before. Instead, think about the type of student D.D. Is, the type of teacher you are and the type of schooling that will be right for your family.” Have I mentioned that she’s brilliant?!

After that conversation I took her advice and cleared the slate. Then I took a look at all the different types of homeschooling out there. It was immediately obvious that the traditional approach to education would not be a good fit to our family. I also knew that we could not possibly be unschoolers since we would spend our days reading fiction novels and not really learn anything. We needed something in-between.

I know that D.D. Is a hands-on, visual learner with crazy high comprehension. I know that I am messy, disorganized, fun and silly. Big Sis had freed me from the obligation of having a traditional school format. A little bit of research told me that what we would have is called eclectic homeschooling.

Once I had it set in my head that we could make a home education work for us, I just had to get all the stuff I needed… That means shopping!

Thought for the day: Amazon, here I come :)

This post is part 2 of the Why We Homeschool Series. Watch for new posts in this series every week on Searching for Serenity.

Read Part 1: How We Decided to Homeschool

How We Decided to Homeschool

Our educational journey has been a bit of a mixed bag. We started out at a very small private school. D.D. went into an all day K-4 program and loved it. The next year I began teaching at the school and was blessed enough to be her Kindergarten teacher. We stayed in that school through third grade.

The educational standards in this little private school world of ours were exceptional. Kids left Kindergarten knowing how to read, write, add and subtract. By third grade, D.D. was memorizing poetry, effortlessly flying through long division and writing her cursive letters with a perfect slant.

In the middle of her third grade year I felt God prompting me to make some changes to our lives. It was time to leave the little school we had called our home and continue the educational journey elsewhere. At the time, I knew I was leaving teaching to pursue writing full-time. I had no idea what to do with D.D. We prayed for direction and open doors… and God delivered.

I had absolutely refused to send D.D. to the school we were assigned to by our district boundaries. Poj and I were horrified by some of the stories we heard coming out of that place. I figured public school wouldn’t be an option for us. Then, a few days after we had begun praying, we got a call from Poj’s dad. He worked for the school district and had just been recruited to join what I started calling The Dream Team.

The district had just acquired some new schools and had staffed the most promising one with the best of the best that elementary ed. had to offer. Poj’s dad felt very strongly that D.D. should attend this school and had already secured the paperwork necessary to get her enrolled. It turned out to be just that easy. Suddenly, D.D. had a personal recommendation and an exceptional academic foundation that allowed her to attend this out of district school on a probationary basis. (Which means that the school could kick her out really quick if she turned out to be a behavioral nightmare.)

Thus started our public school jaunt. I have to be honest, I almost pulled her right back out when I

saw the curriculum plans for the year. They were so wimpy and disappointing! But I trusted that God had a plan for her and we stuck it out.

The staff at the school was fantastic! The principal started every day by walking through the halls, shaking hands and addressing each child by name. D.D.’s teachers were wonderful women who tried really hard to educate their charges against very great odds -- all while keeping the smiles on their faces. For example, D.D.’s fourth grade class had twenty-seven kids in it. Out of those students, four were developmentally disabled, one didn’t speak english, three were “gifted” and the remaining nineteen students were “normal”. You tell me what a teacher is supposed to do in this situation besides just cope…

In public school, D.D. learned patience, tolerance and respect for diverse cultures. Unfortunately, she also learned that if she behaved and was respectful to the staff she could be labelled a good kid and get away with anything. She learned that she could do the bare minimum and still skate by at the top of the class.

This is also when she learned that she had no desire to be one of the “Drama Girls”. (We’re talking attitude here, not theatre… she’s totally into theatre.) She decided that she didn’t want to sacrifice her morals and her education to achieve social standing. So, three months into her fifth grade year, D.D. came to me and said, “Mom, I don’t want to have to deal with all this drama just to get a weak education. I want you to consider homeschooling me since you work from home anyway.” Before I could say anything she continued, “I know I need to finish what I start so I want to finish fifth grade here, but I don’t want to go to middle school with the other kids next year.”

At first I was hesitant… and that lasted about a day. As soon as I opened my mouth to pray about it I felt an overwhelming and resounding YES! Once again, the pieces just fell into place and it was time to prepare for a change.


Thought for the day: Life's journey's are so much more fun in retrospect.

This post is part 1 of the Why We Homeschool Series. Watch for new posts in this series every week on Searching for Serenity.

The Price of Health and Beauty

D.D. was out last night and Poj was occupied with a project on his computer so I had a few rare moments alone with the TV. Today, I find myself glad that this doesn't happen often since the consequences of my TV time last night won't go away. Why, you ask? Simply because I got sucked into the infomercial zone.

LifeLight and Love Out Loud

This past weekend, D.D. and I had an amazing time at LifeLight, an amazing Christian music festival in Bethany, Missouri. It was super hot outside, over 100 degrees all weekend, but it was totally worth it. We only live about an hour and a half from Bethany. We’re close enough that we could have driven in daily, but we didn’t! Instead, we decided to camp there - and I am so glad we did!

Time to Wake Up!

I am beginning this week with a whole new outlook - and keeping that in check with a new grading system. I know, it seems strange to have to grade myself. Seriously, though, my productivity was so low this winter that it was like I slept all season. My blogs, poems, stories and all creativity slept with me. I can say I read a lot which is always a good thing.

Late Nights and Gluten Free Stuffed Olives

I was in quite a mood the other night. I was hungry, working with low blood sugar (meaning VERY cranky) and nothing sounded good to eat. Yep, I was in a full scale I-miss-gluten-filled-junk-food-so-I-won't-eat-anything funk. I hate it when this happens! I think I'll blame T.V. It's all those commercials for huge hamburgers (with fluffy gluten filled buns) fried onion rings, pies, cakes, ice cream cakes, donuts... You get the point (and now I'm hungry again).

So, I'm sitting there at 11:30 at night and Poj (the bestest husband in the world) says, "What can I fix you to eat, baby?"

The Ranch

I've been out of touch for a little while. It makes me feel totally disconnected to think of how long it has been since I have posted any articles or blog entries! I feel better when I think of the fact that it has been for an excellent cause, and today I'm excited to take you on a mini tour of where I've been :)