I have the privilege to home school my youngest child, Popsicle. My husband & I want to ground our children in the Christian faith as much as possible so that they can be salt & light when it's time for them go out into the world.
My oldest has already had to stand up for her faith in public school. My son has commented how many kids in 5th grade don't believe in God. They often ask for advice on how to be a good example to their friends or what to say or do when certain circumstances arise. I'm so glad that we had the opportunity to educate them at home and ground them into the faith as much as we could. I'm so thankful that God, through the Holy Spirit has given them the discernment they've needed to recognize when something isn't "quite right".
I don't know about you, but it amazes me how many children are full-blown atheists and evolutionists before they can even drive! Those gentle, bye-gone years of the recent past where the majority of people went to church and acknowledged that there is a God are long gone. Kids today are much tougher, in-your-face, and hardened. I truly want my kids to be different. Kinder. More thoughtful. Christlike in an ungodly world. That's why we home school.
Even though it's difficult at times, I truly enjoy teaching Popsicle at home. Yes, the grading can get piled up at times and I wonder HOW in the world I can keep that little sponge-like mind occupied! However, it works beautifully for us.
In the past 5 years of our home schooling journey, I've found that most people don't understand what it takes to home school. There are those who believe that you're doing your child a great injustice to not have them in public education. They think homeschooling is too "sheltering" or that you're not giving your child enough socialization. Still others believe that home schooling isn't "real" schooling ~ that you just play around all day, cutting, pasting, and watching TV.
Believe you me, I've seen one home schooling extreme to the other. For example, you have some women who are so overly organized and have things "just so" that it's a pride issue for them. They love to show you how they've got their school rooms set up, their grading systems, their field trips, their "rules" and how amazing their children are ~ with their perfect hairstyles and carefully coordinated outfits. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have those moms who don't get up until well past noon, have their homes in complete chaos, home school in their pj's (because they don't want to get dressed!) and take frequent week-long breaks during the school year.
I like to think that I'm in the tranquil middle of those crazy extremists. I like to be organized ~ just take a look at my Pinterest boards! ~ and I do have a special place for Popsicle to do school ~ we converted our upstairs loft into her classroom. I like the freedom of taking a break when necessary, (for example, when our oldest 2 were home because of snow days) as well as starting school a little later than most. (We begin school around 10 AM.)
We use the more traditional method of schooling. I mainly use Bob Jones' material, but I've supplemented other online resource as well. To cut a lot of the expense, I've found that second-hand bookstores carry teacher's editions as well as some usable work-texts. I also have kept teacher's editions and reading books from teaching my other children, so I only have to buy the work-texts for Popsicle.
Tomorrow I'll share a "day in the life of" our typical home school day. Hope to see you then!
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