I am blessed with a strapping young son 10 years of age and a beautiful 4 year old daughter. I simply adore these two precious gifts from God. However, (of course there was a but) they are driving me batty!!!!!



Let me go back to the beginning….



Once a upon a time a little boy was thrilled to find out that Momma was going to have a new baby with which he could play. Then the baby was born and it couldn’t play yet and not only that but it was ….a GIRL!



As time went on the two children played separately like two strangers living in the same house. This greatly sadden their mother. She wanted the strong bond between the two that she shared with her own big brother. She also hoped for that close family unit that she had seen happen in other home schooling families.



Then the girl started to notice things her big brother was doing and wanted to be included. For the most part he ignored her but allowed her to watch or hang out in his general area.



Slowly but surely the sweet young man loosened up and attempted to play with his tiny sister. His clumsy attempts at play usually ended up with her hurt and him being in trouble.



So, the clever little girl picked up on the pattern ….

I scream…. Bubba gets in trouble.



Do you see where this is going yet?



Once upon a time is over…



Now we’re at my house today.



Em follows Bran around the house constantly picking and whinning, picking and whining until Bubba responds. Then WAAAAAAAAAA!!! Her siren goes off! He begins screaming he didn’t do anything….She begins screaming he did and adding extra sins along with any actual sins he might have committed! Then there are the outbursts from Bubba (even when Sissy isn’t really doing anything wrong) and his constant complaints of her constant picking……….



OK I have officially vented.



So, if any one can tell me when the you scream, I scream, we all scream stage ends don’t hesitate to let me know…



Is that one of my marbles rolling by? ...‘Cause I don’t have many left and I just can’t spare one....

So why did you decide to home school?

Oh How many times have I been asked that before by someone who had already decided I was a fanatical nut before I even finished explaining reason number one of many?

Every home school parent has their own reason for homeschooling. Many I run across have the same reasons, but just for kicks (and the sake of blogging) I'll tell you my reasons.

My reasons oddly enough have changed a little in the three short years I've been homeschooling. But in no particular order here they are:

For one, in public schools the teachers are spread way to thin! With anywhere between 15 to 25 five kids in a room the teacher can't see everything that happens. She can't always know when a child needs help. A kid that finishes work early becomes a problem. My son went to PS for K and 1st grade and he was always in trouble for talking. He'd finish his work and start talking.

Another thing is that everyone has some subjects they are great at and subjects they are not so good at. In a home school setting a subject that is a struggle can be worked at the child's pace with one on one guidance until they "get it." A subject that a child excels in is the sky is the limits! No waiting around for the rest of the class to get it!

Then there is the fact that everyone learns differently. Home school curriculum can be tailor made to fit each child's needs and learning styles.

There also is the fact that we can school whenever we want. We can school early in the day. We can school late at night. We can school in a house with a mouse or in a box with a fox. We can school all year around, just during the PS "school year" and take a vacation any time we please!

Then next couple may sound a little selfish.

First I love being there when they "get it." I love to watch them learn. I love that they love it. I love that I am learning too. I love being with my kids!

Next I love CONTROL! I control what my children learn, when they learn it and who they learn it from! Little Johnny on the school bus is not going to explain the birds and the bees to my kids! Mrs. Jones in room 1A is not going to tell one of my children the humans came from a single celled animal that for no reason whatsoever started to change over millions of years until TA-DA humans came to be!

And I guess finally if I haven't given myself away already.... I home school because that's what I think God wants me to do. He gave me these special little creatures to raise for Him. I'm going to do the best I know how to raise them to be what He would have them to become. I don't believe the PS system can provide that. I think that only I can. I said in the beginning my reasons have changed a little over the past few years. The change would be that this last final reason has become more and more important to me.

So there you have it...that's why I home school. I could probably add more but even the blogg reader must get tired of reading my ramblings eventually! LOL

As I said before ... my son went to public school for K and 1st grade. My husband thought I should home school and I didn't think I was smart enough, or had enough patience. I also was under the illusion that my son wouldn't listen to me because kids always seem to listen to other adults better than their parents. (I'm not the only one that thinks that, right?)

After many unpleasant experiences with the PS system I decided to trust my hubby, myself, and my Lord and at least attempt to home school. I started a few weeks before Bran's 2nd grade school year in case I ended up putting him in PS after all.

I joined a couple of home school support groups, hunted down other home school moms to question them, and went to the library to check out books.

My first homeschooling experiment was with a little book on dragon flies. We read the book and then went outside to look for them. We talked about the difference between damsel flies and dragon flies. When we were through my son asked if he could make a dragon fly. He gathered up stuff around the house.... Paper towel roll, hair spray lid, tennis ball, glue straw, construction paper. Then he made a dragon fly model and labeled it Head, Thorax, and abdomen!


After that I was sold! I would just figure it out. So, off we went down the yellow brick road on our home school adventure. It's so funny that when I started I thought... we'll try it. If it doesn't work I'll just put him back in school. I tried to make sure I covered everything that he would in "real" school in case he had to go back. ROFLOL My kids go to PS? No Way!!!! They are MY kids and I'm going to raise, love, protect, and teach them!

Go April, Go April, Teach your children, you can do it!

What was going on before I came here?

Find out at my old Homeschoolblogger Blog