Our School - From 6/3/2009

I am enjoying writing in our Critters on the Porch blog so much, that I decided I would start a new blog focusing on school. I am not sure what will end up on here, but I think it will be a good way to keep our records and memories.

We started homeschooling when Laura was just a couple of years old. She was so anxious to get started. When she was 2 1/2, one of our friends children turned 5 and they started schooling her at home. Just about every day after that, Laura would tell me that it was her birthday, she was five, let's make a cake and start school. It was so cute. Finally, I gave in and got her a few workbooks and some "Bob Books". They are books that introduce a few letters per book and the child can start reading a "real book" fairly quickly. Laura did really well - learning her letters and numbers. Learning to write and read. It was really a joy teaching her. It seemed like she just absorbed everything we introduced.

After that start, Laura had basically covered kindergarten material by the time she was 3. We started really looking into homeschooling, and really liked what we learned about it. We are so glad that we started on the homeschooling path. It is wonderful to be able to spend every day, all day, with the children. As we have added children to our family, it takes more and more creativity to schedule our days. Some days it seems like we don't get much schooling done...other days, when we do well with school, it feels like the house will fall apart around us, but all in all it goes well. There are days when I wonder what in the world I was thinking... :) Days when I worry that they won't get the education they need... But mostly I just feel so blessed to be able to have our children with me - to have the opportunity to teach them to be good citizens , to teach them how to love their brothers and sisters, to teach them to love to learn, and most of all to teach them and hopefully show them how to love the God who created them.