You Know You Are a Homeschooler If...

You take your son out to the Rainf*rest Cafe for his birthday and let him order the really huge volcano dessert, but before you let him eat it, you make him tell you what the parts of the volcano are (The chocolate sauce inside is magma while the chocolate sauce on the outside is lava and the ice cream is an ash cloud!). He loved it and knew all the right answers!

A Conversation with My 7 Year Old Son...

I have to get this down before I forget it:

Jackson: Mom, I feel different.
Me: In what way?
J: I'm being nice to the babies...
Me: What do you think has made that difference?
J: Well, it was my friend Parker. He was always saying bad words and making me say bad words cause I was like part of their gang, but I didn't want to be.
Me: You said bad words?
J: Well, maybe but I didn't want to. They tricked me. They would make me hold my tongue and say words that would sound like bad words, but I didn't know.
Me: There's going to be a lot of people in your life that try to make you do things. You have to stand up for yourself.
J: I'm just so glad to be away from all of them. They were making my heart feel black. I don't like that feeling. I'm glad to be homeschooled.
Me: Me too, baby, me too.


For several months now Jackson has been crying that his heart hurt. He always said it felt black. We prayed with him and for him, but he continually complained to the point that I asked the doctor about it and was ready to talk to Pastor Reagan about it. Now I think it was some things he had done but was too embarrassed to tell us about or maybe stress from some situations he was in that the Holy Spirit was convicting him about. Regardless, I am glad to have him home for however long we decide to stay on this road. I have to make sure I use this time to equip him with a foundation to withstand the world. What a big responsibility and mostly what an honor!

Pros and Cons...

So, as we gear up to start our fun homeschooling journey I am trying to think of the pros and cons for each of my children and myself.



First, there is my wonderful 7 year old son. He is a learner by nature. He is interested in lots of things, especially science and math.



PROS: 1. He loves to learn and will be really into it if its something he's interested in.

2. He's really good in math and will benefit from individualized instruction and especially how Saxon teaches.

3. He loves science and will enjoy as many hand on activities as I can throw at him.

CONS: 1. He can be hard to get moving and get started.

2. He can talk down to his sister when she doesn't know something or try to be helpful but end up just telling her the answer.

3. His interest can jump from thing to thing so I need to make sure he focuses enough to master one topic.

Secondly, there is my lovely 5 year old daughter. She is very eager and loves arts and crafts.

PROS: 1. She will love me working one-on-one with her and will be eager to please and do well.

2. She actually already asks if we can start homeschooling, even on a snow day from regular school!

3. She is very creative and will come up with her own ways to learn things.

CONS: 1. She always wants my attention and will be unhappy when I am working with her brothers.

2. It will never be enough with her. If she is into it she will want to do more and more and more.

3. She cannot handle criticism and gets her feelings hurt if I correct her at all.

Thirdly, there are the 17 month old twins. I am really motivated to involve them in organized learning in their own Tot School.

PROS: 1. They are so smart and love having our attention to show them new things.

2. It will make me be sure to spend time with them individually which I sometimes get too busy to do.

3. They usually take a 3 hour nap!

CONS: 1. I have to make sure all 4 kids are getting enough attention from Mommy-yikes!

2. Making sure the big kids have fun involving them without being too rough or overbearing.

3. They will be upset if the big kids and I are working in the kitchen and they are stuck behind the gate in the living room.

Last but not least there is me: teacher/mommy! I am very passionate about curriculum and planning so having complete control of this is a dream come true for me, but I am realistic about my shortcomings too.

PROS: 1. I feel like I am very creative and determined to find fun ways to teach them.

2. I am truly passionate about teaching and learning and am looking forward to learning new things along with them.

3. My kids, along with my wonderful husband, are truly my best friends. I am so excited about just having all this time to spend with them.

CONS: 1. I tend to rebel at being locked into a schedule. It will be hard for me to be disciplined in that way, but I know for the kids' sake I need to be.

2. I am an overachiever. I will probably bite off more than I can chew. I want to teach them about everything and stress myself out about fitting it all in.

3. I am by nature an introvert and will have to work hard to go to get together and network with other homeschoolers so my kids will get the socialization they need. I tend to want to be a homebody but will have to make myself get out and be active.

I said I was the last, but I have to include my great husband. I can't do this without him, obviously! He swore we would never homeschool but came to agree that it was something we were being called to do. He will be an amazing asset and a realist to keep us on track!

PROS: 1. He has already listened to be talk about curriculum for hours and hours and always manages to give me great feedback.

2. He is Mr. Science and is very excited about doing experiments and exploring things like weather with the kids.

3. He is the active one. I am really counting on him to be the P.E. teacher since that is so not my forte. We are really blessed with his work schedule so he can be home by 3 to get them out and active.

CONS: 1. He's too easy on me and won't use tough love to keep me disciplined!

2. I will probably be ready for some alone time when he gets home and will want him to take over!

3. This one is for both of us. I have told him that if I'm homeschooling it will be like I'm working full time. I will need a lot of time to both teach and prepare which will take time away from household chores which are already overtaking me! Somehow, we will both have to figure out how to balance this.

So, there's our family; the good and the bad! I know there will be lots of ups and downs as we undertake this journey. It, like anything, will be filled with challenges and successes. We will just have to cover it in prayer and push on!