Harmonious Homeschooling

Although there are many homeschool blogs out there, I've decided all of my homeschool research should not be wasted. If for nothing else, it will be a place where I can reflect on what I've researched, assess what I've learned, and synthesize my findings with reality. I hope others can also learn from this blog as well, and from the website I'm eventually going to put together.

My Story:

To be honest, I was all for homeschooling before I started. My daughter turned three and I thought, "Oh, no! Some preschools start at age two! I need to get going!" I began printing off loads of worksheets and activities, and began scheduling days of work ahead of time. This lasted for a few months, but I was also working and going to school at the time, so we would do work every day one week, none the next, a few days the next week, and so on, until we weren't doing work more than we were. So much for that!

Next, my daughter approached Kindergarten age, and I realized I needed to get serious. I bought some used Abeka materials from my sister, purchased the workbooks at one of the Abeka preview shows, and knew I had to start Kindergarten. And then I became oh-so-very tempted to contact the nearest school and enroll her immediately! Like others, I had envisioned this perfect homeschool, with a decorated classroom, desks set-up just so, and willing children whose every desire was to be molded by my instruction. This did not happen. My daughter proved just how stubborn she could be, and she still resorts to crossing her arms, covering her face, shaking her head, and turning away--every now and then. Yes, I'm still tempted to call public and private schools to beg them to take my daughter, but how many parent-teachers out there haven't been tempted to hand over their children to someone else, even for just a few hours a day?

I don't know why there is a nagging thought that runs through my mind, telling me to enroll them in school, but I know that is just the weak side of me trying to give up. I know what is best for my daughters, and I know that is me. I know that I can provide them with more morals and sound judgment than a public school teacher, and I know I can enrich their education and help my little girls blossom. I don't know just how I'm going to do this, but I know it will happen. The Lord gave me such precious gems and left me in charge of them, so it is my duty to pray, to research, to learn, and to guide my children to be the best and do the best they can. This is my homeschool journey to finding homeschool harmony.