I think I need to document what we are doing for school this year and why. We are homeschooling Grace with help from a co-op for her pre-k year. I have to first say that I am totally shocked that I am doing this. I never in 5 million years would have thought I would ever even think of getting involved in anything having to do with homeschooling. I got a great public school education. I enjoyed getting my education for the most part. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed being home all day with my family. Both of my parents are educators. We are a pro-public school family. Are you getting the point yet? And we have not decided to homeschool our kids forever (or even next year) and separate ourselves from the rest of the world etc... This just seemed like the best fit for us this year, and honestly, I am equal parts excited and terrified. For many different reasons we have never put Grace in preschool. I didn't think she was ready when she was 2. We had no idea where our family would be or what our income would be the entire year she was 3. And now that she is 4, it just does not seem right to send her away 5 days a week (even if it is just in the morning... Which is the best time of day!) and all of the pre-k programs I looked into were 5 days a week. My 4 year old is not ready to be gone that much. She likes being at home, and we like having her at home! SO much training goes on during a regular old day at home with mom. Maybe not always just abc's and 123's but character training, family bonding, parenting.
As I have been praying about this I have also really tried to see what the scripture says about educating children. What would the Lord want me to teach my kids? Obviously, a good solid education that will allow for provision later on is a must, but what else? I need to make sure they hear the gospel... And see the gospel. Not just at Sunday school, but every day. How do we care for our neighbors? How do we care for the poor, sick, needy? How do we show everyone the love of Jesus and the good news? How do I show that to my kids? Shouldn't educating my kids in the gospel be more important than stressing about what we need to do to get them ready for an ivy league scholarship? Please don't misunderstand, I most definitely think these things can be accomplished when a kid is away from home most of the day. In many ways, perhaps there is more opportunity for growth and practice, but I also know that my 4 year old is not a believer. She is completely depraved and loves herself, her ideas, her desires more than anything. And so as her parent I feel like there is an element of protection that has to happen. Reaching what feels like a good balance is SO hard for me. I really want her to be comfortable with all kinds of people in all kinds of circumstances, but I don't want her comfortable in the world. And I know that the Lord is the one who is in control and will mold and shape her desires, but I want to be in control of that... Don't we all! Don't we all have a desired outcome for our kids. Does it ever actually happen like we want? I'm guessing a big fat no. So I can just pray pray pray and teach teach teach and let go bit by bit while guiding along the way... And pray some more!
So anyway, my four year old will be at home with her mother and brother this year. We are a part of a Classical Conversations co-op that meets once a week. There are 8 kids in Graces class and I get to go too! We are learning bible verses together, history, geography, Latin, doing art projects, presentations, science experiments, and getting to make some new friends! Is it perfect and just the way I would do it if I were teaching a pre-k class? No. There are several things I would change, but I think it is going to be good for us all.
And how is actual homeschooling at home going? Well, I was completely overwhelmed the first couple of days... Like ready to quit, calling Jonathan crying. But things are steadily improving and it's not feeling so impossible any more. (I'll try to post more about scheduling later... Cause I know you are all dying to hear about this) It may actually end up being enjoyable if you can imagine that! Grace is reading simple 3 letter words, (like really reading, really well!) she can skip count her twos, she knows all of her consonants and sounds, knows all her vowels and is getting better on their sounds. She can pretty much write all of her uppercase alphabet from memory, and can write a lot of the lowercase though we need to work on this. We have learned the first 5 commandments (me more than g on this one), and we have talked about geography that I would have never thought to mention to my four year old! We also still have plenty of time for play and talking and cooking and bringing dinner to friends and dancing in the living room and having neighborhood friends over to paint, and discipline. :-) My hope and prayer is that she will get a superior, well rounded, education in all areas of life this year. Who knows what next year will bring! We will get her tested for the area magnet schools and go from there with a lot of prayer and trusting that the Lord will take care of her as she grows up... So quickly! So be prepared for some more posts about what's happening at the Nida house/pre-k class!
