A New Way of Learning

This year our family has embarked on a new adventure in home education! After much research, reading, discussing, and prayer Brian and I felt certain that God was redirecting us to home school this year. We have successfully completed seven weeks of homeschooling and I am feeling encouraged, excited, and blessed by this new way of learning.

After making the decision to homeschool, a lot of time and energy was spent selecting curriculum. This was both fun and overwhelming at the same time because there are just so many neat options available. I was able to get personal recommendations from several homeschoolers that I know and I also spent a lot of time researching curriculum and reading reviews online. One night while reading a review, I felt God directing me to a particular curriculum (this was something I had been fervently praying about and probably stressing over way too much). It was so clear it was as if God was saying, "This is the one!" I had wanted to be sure about this big decision and from that point on I was. God was so gracious to take that burden from me and to give me the confidence that it wasn't just me picking and choosing, but that He was leading me through it all.

Just in case you are curious, here is a list of curriculum that I am using for the boys. Grant is in the third grade and Bryce is in the first grade. Math, writing, reading, grammar, handwriting, and spelling are grade level specific. Science, history and Bible are taught together.

History, Geography, Spelling, Science, Art and Music: Heart of Dakota: Bigger Hearts for His Glory

Math: Horizons

Grammar: First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind

Writing: The Complete Writer: Writing With Ease

Handwriting: A Reason for Handwriting

Reading: SonLight Readers

Bible: Heart of Dakota along with Word of Life

Carter is in Junior Kindergarten. I am using Early Education at Home, Heart of Dakota: Little Hearts for His Glory, Horizons Math, A Reason for Handwriting along with many great ideas from the internet and of course our local library for his curriculum.

We are also supplementing with Classical Conversations (you can find out more at ClassicalConversations.com). We meet with this group on Tuesdays to learn history, geography, math, Bible, Latin and science by the classical approach. The boys each go to their own class where their tutors instruct them on the weeks lesson and review memory work. They are also required to present to the class each week (a 2-3 min. presentation). Tuesdays have become the favorite day of the week at our house!

To get ready for the school year we set up a school room in our house. Each boy has his own work space. These photos were taken right before we started school. After seven weeks of school, the walls are now covered with artwork!

Grant and Carter's desks. We are learning about American history this year, hence the flag.

Bryce's desk along with a table for Davis.

I made this calendar that I found on a homeschool blog (MamaJenn.com).

Our more traditional calendar, along with our flag for the pledge.

We are also using the workbox system. This was highly recommended to me and I would highly recommend it to anyone considering homeschooling. Basically, each child has their own set of workboxes. In each workbox is an assignment (handwriting sheet, math worksheet, map activity). On each box there is a number attached with velcro. As the child completes each assignment he moves the number from the workbox to the chart over his desk. Some workboxes can be done independently and others require mom's help. This allows for more efficiency and keeps the boys on task. If mom is working with someone else they can just move on to the next workbox until mom is available. The boys have really enjoyed this system and it has helped us get through all of our schoolwork every day!

I keep my lesson plans taped on the wall at the student's desk so that I can refer to them throughout the day. Grant, Bryce and Carter each have their own workboxes and their own lesson plans.

Each of the boys got a certificate after completing our first day of school.

I can't wait to share more about our adventures in home education. It has been a big undertaking and I can't say that it's been easy, but so far the results have been worth the investment. My mom and Brian's parents have been such a blessing by helping with Davis and Claire several mornings a week, allowing me to spend the needed quiet time with the older boys doing school.

As I said earlier, Brian and I both feel certain that God directed us to homeschool this year. I can see the benefits of this new way of learning starting to emerge and I am encouraged. But mostly, I am at peace knowing that I am in His will. There have been some challenging days. This new job of teacher/mom is very fun but also humbling and at times overwhelming and exhausting. But even in those times of difficulty or self-doubt, God keeps assuring me that He is faithful. If He has called me to do this, He WILL provide me with the ability to do it. I feel now more than ever a continual reliance on Him. Simply because I can't do it on my own. But He can. And that makes all the difference.