About two years into our marriage, Chad and I decided it was a good time to start a family. We didn’t know then, that the Lord would have us wait four years before he would bless us with sweet Hannah. That first year was a huge challenge for us dealing with a colicky baby and then learning we were pregnant with Mikayla so soon after Hannah was born. Those early years were precious and difficult at the same time. It was in those years, that God birthed the desire to home school in me. I had a sweet friend that home schooled and I knew we could do it too.
So, as my personality expressed itself, I researched all I could about homeschooling and what it would mean for our family. Chad and I talked early about it and decided it was the right thing to do. Unfortunately, the year I decided to home school, my family went through an emotional train wreck and I knew I couldn’t provide the girls with what they needed. This led to sending Hannah to kindergarten and Mikayla to preschool. The next year found me pregnant and moving from Florida to Mississippi. Another roller coaster ride convinced me to keep them in school for the short season.
Once we were settled in with Autumn, moved into a house, we settled down and prayed about what we should do. My heart ached to have the girls at home. I didn’t hate public school, I just loved my girls more. I knew that we all weren’t getting the best of each other. Getting up at 6:00AM every morning to rush them out the door and getting them back at 2:00PM grumpy and tired just wasn’t working. We also were beginning to see what other things they were learning in public school that we didn’t think they were ready for. My heart also wanted to be able to build relationships with them that would last them through out our lives. We were able to slow down and learn God’s word together, study HIM, and learn how to apply His ways to our lives.
It’s taken me some time to pull away from public school ways and worrying about what they might be missing. I have to be reminded by sweet friends how much they are gaining by our time together and how they are learning at their own pace not the governments. There are so many reasons why we home school, I’d not want to list them all and have you fall asleep reading this…but the main thing was it was right for us.
As we are mid way through our second year in this journey, we are finally finding our footing with curriculum and getting into a groove. I’ve been able to watch Mikayla go from reading Frog and Toad books to Cam Jansen mysteries in a year. I’ve seen Hannah fly in reading and become really good at Math. I love that I get to watch them learn and see how God’ gifted each of their personalities. I love when they have a question about life, they can ask without hesitation or embarrassment. They’ve learned to be independent workers and thinkers. Our home to them is a place where they can learn any time and there aren’t any bells to stop them. We struggle together and succeed together. It’s a fine balancing act most of the time, we drop balls every day, but we just pick them up and keep going.
I’d hate to leave out how blessed we’ve been to find kindred hearts on our road of homeschooling. Our kids are able to build relationships with God loving friends-not all the same but with parents who have common goals and dreams. While we may struggle in the details of our journey, it’s the friendships we’ve found along the way that keep us going - knowing we are all in this together!
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