Why We Homeschool

Since this blog-o-mine is supposed to have a little something to do with homeschooling (according to my blog subtitle anyway), I thought I'd share why we decided to school our kids at home.

In August we began our second consecutive year of homeschooling. I say consecutive because we homeschooled for a year when my oldest, Todd, was in 4th grade and my second oldest, Zack, was in kindergarten. They're now starting 10th grade and 6th grade. YIKES! Where does the time go?

Anywho, back to my story. You might want to pop some popcorn. I can be a long-winded sometimes.

We made the decision to homeschool Todd because he was struggling to stay on task. We'd been going through this since the first grade. He was bored with the work and would end up distracting the other students. Every teacher I talked to told me he was so far beyond the rest of the class, which was why he was bored. Nothing we tried helped him succeed in the public school setting. So, we researched homeschooling, prayed about it, and decided to go for it. I was working at night, had a baby, a toddler, plus the two school-aged kiddos. Honestly, it felt like more of a whirlwind of craziness than anything that might have resembled school. I was overwhelmed and felt like I didn't have any outside support, with the exception of my hubby. I let all the negative voices win (mine and others), and I sent the kids back to public school the next year.

Flash forward four years and we have bullying issues (Todd was the kid who'd get suspended because he defended himself), a sleep disorder (Todd again--started in the 5th grade---of course that led to issues with teachers), a move to a new school district, more issues with teachers because they didn't understand the sleep disorder, more bullying (the younger boys this time) . . . you get the picture. Less than three months at the new school and thoughts of homeschooling started cluttering my mind.

I began to panic. I seriously freaked out a little. All I could think about was the last time we attempted homeschooling. This time around I would be teaching all four of them with one of those being high school age. What the heck was I thinking?

I struggled with this decision for quite a while. Months. Ian and I discussed the pros and cons along with the possibility of homeschooling the younger three and letting the oldest finish public high school despite the sleep issues. I prayed and prayed about this. I can't remember another time that I'd prayed so intently over something. And just when I thought I felt good about homeschooling, there'd be a monkey wrench thrown into the plan. Finally, I prayed for some sort of sign. I told Heavenly Father if this was what He wanted me to do, then I needed to know beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Guess what? I received an answer to that prayer.

My youngest, Lauren, was out of school for kindergarten registration day. She had a tall order for her special alone-time-with-mommy day. She wanted to have lunch at the golden arches (Ptooie!) and go to the park to play. Even though that's not my favorite place to eat, it's the girl's, so that's where we went. We made it to the park just as a group of moms and kids were packing up to leave. I knew they had to be homeschoolers. I could hardly contain my excitement! I had a nice chat with one of the moms for a few minutes before they left. We exchanged numbers, facebook info, and homeschool group info. As I talked with this mom, I felt an immense weight lifting from my shoulders and an incredible warmth hugging my entire body. This was it. My sign.

From that moment I knew homeschooling was the plan, and I haven't looked back. WE haven't looked back. My only regret is not sticking with it the first time around. But I think that was part of the plan too. I believe He knew I needed time to grow as a mom and feel more confident in my abilities.

No matter what negative comments might come our way, or if we get weird looks in Walmart because my motley crew is in there during school hours . . . all of that doesn't matter, because I know I'm doing what my Heavenly Father wants me to do. If I start to feel a little overwhelmed, I just remember that day at the park and the feeling I had, and I know that I can keep going. Everything will be ok.

And sometimes my hubby has to rescue me and take me on a mini date to Sonic for a half-priced milkshake.

That's ok too.

You know what? We haven't had the first negative comment or nasty look. At least not when I'm looking or listening. But who cares? More often than not, the adults we meet on a regular basis (bank, grocery story, gas station, library) know we homeschool. And the ones who don't know are surprisingly accepting of our answer when they ask, "Is school out today?".

Getting Back to Normal

I've been M.I.A. again. I apologize. I've been so preoccupied with this thing called life that I haven't given my blog a second thought . . . or any thought at all for that matter.

We've been busy job stressing hunting for Ian, playing catch-up with school since we took off an extra week at Christmas, and just being so focused on these two things that we haven't allowed room for anything else. YIKES!

The job. Yes. Well, I won't bore you with the details, but we went from what we thought was a sure thing, to scrambling to apply for anything and everything, to accepting an over-the-road job, to getting a call at the very last minute for the much-prayed-for local job. Woohoo!!!!!

It might sound like all of this happened really quickly, but the whole process took about 3 months. Whew! I'm so glad to have that part behind us.

But, you know what? I'm so thankful for the lessons I learned during that time.

One of the biggest lessons I've learned these past few months is faith. I always hear people say 'Let go and let God'. That is truly easier said than done. When I was finally able to do this, I felt so much more at ease about our circumstances and knew that things would work out. It definitely took longer than I would've liked, and things didn't turn out like I first thought they would, but they did work out.

I've learned that prayer works. Of course I already knew this, but there have been times in my life where I wondered if my prayers were actually being heard. But, I know that my Heavenly Father knows me and my family and is aware of our needs. I learned this time and time again each time a much needed blessing came our way. It might have been a few groceries when we were running low on everything, a freezer of deer meat to help us through an especially rough patch, a little extra cash at just the right time to help with bills, or a tank of gas to help us through the week. These are just a few, but every single one of them came at exactly the right time and were so very appreciated.

I've learned (and am still learning) patience. And if you know me very well, you know patience isn't my strongest virtue. I think patience and faith go hand in hand. I had to learn to be patient with Heavenly Father's timing, there again, having faith that things would work out, maybe not according to my or Ian's plan, but according to His plan for us. That's a tough one because I have a strong need to be in control, and I really hate feeling out of control. Just ask my hubby. He calls me anal retentive. But, you know what? I'm making progress in this department.

I've also learned the importance of having an emergency fund, a savings account, and food storage. I won't elaborate on these right now, but I will say that these three things are at the top of my list of goals this year.

(photo courtesy of emilymcdowelldraws on etsy)

 I know this isn't the end of life's storms for me and my family, but as long as we remember to have faith, trust in Heavenly Father, talk to Him every day, and be patient with His timing, I know He will help us sail through not only the calm waters, but the raging waters, too.