As we get ready to embark on year two of homeschooling, I wanted to take some time to reflect on our first year and the journey to homeschooling for our family. I wanted to remember our story because I want to share it with our kids, and the best way for me to remember anything these days is to write it down! That 'pregnancy brain' turned into 'mom brain'. Also, I'm a sucker for a good story and sweet details. :)
I grew up in a household where we were sent to public school. I rode the school bus. My mom even became a school bus driver when I was in middle school so she could be home with us during the summers. I LOVED school! My grandmother was a school librarian! At one time, I wanted to be a Kindergarten teacher! I would get so excited about going back to school-- meeting my new teacher(s), getting new school supplies, picking out new clothes, and seeing my friends. I was fortunate and had so many great teachers- I can't think of a single teacher who wasn't great. I enjoyed learning, and I still do.
I didn't know a single person who went to a private school or had their parents homeschool them (and if I did, I didn't know those details). I ashamedly thought children who were homeschooled didn't do well socially, and would end up awkward and unable to make it in the real world. I'm not sure where I picked up those ideas, but I'm extremely embarrassed to admit that now. Once I arrived to the Bible College I attended in Knoxville, TN, I met several people who had been homeschooled their entire lives. Do you know what I found!? They may have been more prepared for life than I had been! And do you know what else? A few of those people became some of my very best friends! They are kind, confident, giving, studious, hard-working, self-disciplined, independent, and the list goes on. Despite these realizations, I still had no intention to ever homeschool any children I might birth.
My husband was brought up in the public school system as well.
In our premarital discussions, we talked about how I would like to stay home with our kids one day, and how I didn't want to homeschool. I wanted to send them to public schools, and once they were all in school, I'd go back to work- hopefully in the school system so I could have summers and holidays off with them.
Fast forward a few years- once we had Ella and Owen, and I started looking into preschools and MDO programs for them while I was pregnant with Lana, it all felt wrong. I was staying home to take care of them, right?
When we moved to Louisville, Kentucky back in 2013, we discovered the school system was a lot different than any other place we'd lived. You weren't guaranteed to go to the school closest to your home. We could also end up with all four of our children being in different school districts, depending on where you were placed upon registration. Of course, you could appeal, but it wasn't guaranteed and we didn't know anyone in the school system to root for us. Our kids could end up all over the city, on different school buses, because there was no way I could make it all over the city to get all of them picked up at the same release time once they started school! I was stressing about it and it wasn't even time for school yet. We ended up moving to the next county over, and so that helped solve that problem. Then, I started hearing stories from locals about what was required of teachers and students in the school system, and my fear came back again. I couldn't shake the thoughts that maybe we needed to consider homeschooling. When I brought up those thoughts to Brent, he was a little taken back since we'd already decided against it years ago. It was hard to explain to him how my mind had begun changing and I wanted to consider the option now. He worried about how I'd find the time to lesson plan and teach and take care of all of my other responsibilities- all of which are things I wasn't sure about either. These conversations took place right as we were thinking and praying about moving to Georgia for a potential job with Chick-fil-a. (As most of you know, he got the job, and we live in Georgia now! haha.)
Fast forward a little bit more -- it was the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday 2015, and we were traveling from our hotel in downtown Louisville, KY to our hotel in Peachtree City, GA as we waited on our household belongings to arrive with the movers the following week. We finally made it to Peachtree City and it was dinner time. We stopped at Outback Steakhouse close to the hotel, and our kids were so excited to have finally arrived! The very first people we interacted with in our new town was this sweet family sitting at the table next to us. I was so worried about our kids being too loud, and Knox needed to be nursed while we were eating- I was feeling self-conscious in many ways. They were so kind and complimented our kids, and asked us about our family and if we were new to town. I was amazed, and so grateful to this family making us feel welcome in the first moments after arriving to our destination. Brent talked with the dad, and I talked with the mom. As we were about to leave, the woman told me that there was an amazing homeschool community in the area. Brent overheard this last part, and once we got to the car, let me know he was a little upset with me for asking her about homeschooling since we were still discussing it and hadn't come to any conclusions. I, too, became upset because I hadn't said a word about anything school-related to her, she willingly offered that information on her own. He then apologized.
Once moved in and settled, I got the two older kids set up in a preschool. Our weeks from January to May 2016 were filled with carpool line as there wasn't an option for anything less than three days a week for the two of them. I was going crazy, the kids were acting out, and I had no way of meeting people because we were playing catch up on our two off-days. Knox and Lana were getting off of their napping schedules since we had to sit in the car for hours three days each week, and that was creating the most of our chaos.
A couple months down the road, Brent came home to tell me about his meeting with his mentor at work. Brent told me about this type of school that his mentor's kids attended- it was a Classical School where the kids went to school one day a week (in the early years, and two days later on), and homeschooled the remainder of the week. Not only that, they had the curriculum and lesson planning all set up. It sounded absolutely perfect for our family.
We decided it might be a good fit, and started the application process. I took Ella Rose for her evaluation in April 2016, and we met the current Kindergarten teacher. You won't believe who it is! 😃Remember the woman I spoke with at the restaurant when we first moved here? It was her! She will be Ella's 1st Grade teacher this year! I'm still amazed by these events leading up to our homeschool journey.
This past school year was wonderful, difficult, and empowering all at once! Ella's Kindergarten year presented challenges, as I'm sure each year will, but it brought us closer as a family and taught us how to rely on God for strength and courage in many ways. Homeschooling is everything I never knew I ever wanted!
Now I'm setting up and organizing our school room as we are gathering books and supplies for this new school year! We will have one in Kindergarten and one in 1st Grade! It doesn't seem like that is possible. If you think about us, please pray for us as we start getting used to another new normal, and I will do the same for you! I know there are obstacles no matter which path of schooling you take, and I'm all about building one another up. Sending you lots of love as summer comes to an end.
I grew up in a household where we were sent to public school. I rode the school bus. My mom even became a school bus driver when I was in middle school so she could be home with us during the summers. I LOVED school! My grandmother was a school librarian! At one time, I wanted to be a Kindergarten teacher! I would get so excited about going back to school-- meeting my new teacher(s), getting new school supplies, picking out new clothes, and seeing my friends. I was fortunate and had so many great teachers- I can't think of a single teacher who wasn't great. I enjoyed learning, and I still do.
I didn't know a single person who went to a private school or had their parents homeschool them (and if I did, I didn't know those details). I ashamedly thought children who were homeschooled didn't do well socially, and would end up awkward and unable to make it in the real world. I'm not sure where I picked up those ideas, but I'm extremely embarrassed to admit that now. Once I arrived to the Bible College I attended in Knoxville, TN, I met several people who had been homeschooled their entire lives. Do you know what I found!? They may have been more prepared for life than I had been! And do you know what else? A few of those people became some of my very best friends! They are kind, confident, giving, studious, hard-working, self-disciplined, independent, and the list goes on. Despite these realizations, I still had no intention to ever homeschool any children I might birth.
My husband was brought up in the public school system as well.
In our premarital discussions, we talked about how I would like to stay home with our kids one day, and how I didn't want to homeschool. I wanted to send them to public schools, and once they were all in school, I'd go back to work- hopefully in the school system so I could have summers and holidays off with them.
Fast forward a few years- once we had Ella and Owen, and I started looking into preschools and MDO programs for them while I was pregnant with Lana, it all felt wrong. I was staying home to take care of them, right?
When we moved to Louisville, Kentucky back in 2013, we discovered the school system was a lot different than any other place we'd lived. You weren't guaranteed to go to the school closest to your home. We could also end up with all four of our children being in different school districts, depending on where you were placed upon registration. Of course, you could appeal, but it wasn't guaranteed and we didn't know anyone in the school system to root for us. Our kids could end up all over the city, on different school buses, because there was no way I could make it all over the city to get all of them picked up at the same release time once they started school! I was stressing about it and it wasn't even time for school yet. We ended up moving to the next county over, and so that helped solve that problem. Then, I started hearing stories from locals about what was required of teachers and students in the school system, and my fear came back again. I couldn't shake the thoughts that maybe we needed to consider homeschooling. When I brought up those thoughts to Brent, he was a little taken back since we'd already decided against it years ago. It was hard to explain to him how my mind had begun changing and I wanted to consider the option now. He worried about how I'd find the time to lesson plan and teach and take care of all of my other responsibilities- all of which are things I wasn't sure about either. These conversations took place right as we were thinking and praying about moving to Georgia for a potential job with Chick-fil-a. (As most of you know, he got the job, and we live in Georgia now! haha.)
Fast forward a little bit more -- it was the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday 2015, and we were traveling from our hotel in downtown Louisville, KY to our hotel in Peachtree City, GA as we waited on our household belongings to arrive with the movers the following week. We finally made it to Peachtree City and it was dinner time. We stopped at Outback Steakhouse close to the hotel, and our kids were so excited to have finally arrived! The very first people we interacted with in our new town was this sweet family sitting at the table next to us. I was so worried about our kids being too loud, and Knox needed to be nursed while we were eating- I was feeling self-conscious in many ways. They were so kind and complimented our kids, and asked us about our family and if we were new to town. I was amazed, and so grateful to this family making us feel welcome in the first moments after arriving to our destination. Brent talked with the dad, and I talked with the mom. As we were about to leave, the woman told me that there was an amazing homeschool community in the area. Brent overheard this last part, and once we got to the car, let me know he was a little upset with me for asking her about homeschooling since we were still discussing it and hadn't come to any conclusions. I, too, became upset because I hadn't said a word about anything school-related to her, she willingly offered that information on her own. He then apologized.
Once moved in and settled, I got the two older kids set up in a preschool. Our weeks from January to May 2016 were filled with carpool line as there wasn't an option for anything less than three days a week for the two of them. I was going crazy, the kids were acting out, and I had no way of meeting people because we were playing catch up on our two off-days. Knox and Lana were getting off of their napping schedules since we had to sit in the car for hours three days each week, and that was creating the most of our chaos.
A couple months down the road, Brent came home to tell me about his meeting with his mentor at work. Brent told me about this type of school that his mentor's kids attended- it was a Classical School where the kids went to school one day a week (in the early years, and two days later on), and homeschooled the remainder of the week. Not only that, they had the curriculum and lesson planning all set up. It sounded absolutely perfect for our family.
We decided it might be a good fit, and started the application process. I took Ella Rose for her evaluation in April 2016, and we met the current Kindergarten teacher. You won't believe who it is! 😃Remember the woman I spoke with at the restaurant when we first moved here? It was her! She will be Ella's 1st Grade teacher this year! I'm still amazed by these events leading up to our homeschool journey.
This past school year was wonderful, difficult, and empowering all at once! Ella's Kindergarten year presented challenges, as I'm sure each year will, but it brought us closer as a family and taught us how to rely on God for strength and courage in many ways. Homeschooling is everything I never knew I ever wanted!
Now I'm setting up and organizing our school room as we are gathering books and supplies for this new school year! We will have one in Kindergarten and one in 1st Grade! It doesn't seem like that is possible. If you think about us, please pray for us as we start getting used to another new normal, and I will do the same for you! I know there are obstacles no matter which path of schooling you take, and I'm all about building one another up. Sending you lots of love as summer comes to an end.
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