Homeschooling is not for the Birds!

My sister told me I needed to update my blog. My problem is that I am currently homeschooling my two kids and I barely have time each day to do anything but check my e-mail. That is why I told my older sister that I didn't need a blog. :)

I have a 4 year old and a 5 1/2 year old and I love teaching them at home. There are some days that I wonder if I am teaching them all that they are "suppose" to know, but when I look at their workbooks and see that my 5 year old is in her 2nd first grade book I figure we are doing ok. Today was a great day because it was spring break (yes homeschoolers get spring break too). I had told Audrey that we didn't have to do school this week and she raised her hand in the air and yelled yeh! :) That didn't make me feel so good but everyone needs a break from their regular life, even kids.

We took today to meet some friends at the park (yes we have plenty of socialization :)). We had a blast. I had read this article about this new park with 3 story tall slides. I called some friends up and we met there. We arrived about 10 am and didn't leave until after 2 pm. The kids had so much fun. I even went down the slides with my kids. There was also a creek by the park and we sat on rocks and ate icecream from the famous icecream truck and watched some boys catch minnows.

Days like this are one of the reasons why I am glad I am homeschooling. If Audrey (or me) is having a tough day at school we can stop and take a trip to the park or what my friend stefanie does, which is, go bowling. We let off steam, come back home and finish up. There is so much freedom in homeschooling. I can teach my children the things that are important to me, as I am teaching them what most kids their age are learning. I have the freedom to slow down with them if I need to or let them get as far ahead as they want too.


We finished Audrey's kindergarten reading program in December. So I picked up the first grade book and she keeps trucking on. She doesn't know she is doing 1st grade work she just knows she is doing her reading. We are also working on first grade math and unit studies. What's a unit study you ask? It is where you pick a subject that your child likes, get a bunch of books from the library and learn about that thing. Audrey and Madison love dinosaurs so we spent a few weeks learning about dinosaurs and then we put a notebook together about what we learned. They loved it.

There are other benefits as well, like I can teach real science and history in Kindergarten and 1st grade. This year we learned about the ice age, the sumarians and we will be getting into the Epic of Gilgamesh and other fun, ancient history stuff. Next year we will be studying flying creatures for science all year. I am excited about that. I also am able to give Audrey and Madison opportunities to take classes most kids wouldn't be able too take,like pottery and other art/music classes.

That doesn't mean every day is a good day, there are even some weeks when I am lucky to get my point across to Audrey and Madison. There are days when she doesn't want to do her handwriting and there are days she just wants to sit outside and draw what she sees. There are days I have to clean houses or run errands and not much school gets done. Despite those days every night I go to bed thanking God that I have this opportunity to teach my girls and I pray to Him that He shows me what He wants me to teach them.


I would love to hear your thoughts. Please click on the "Amen" below and leave your comments. Thanks!