In the beginning...... Blissful ignorance

After many months of prayer and in depth thought, we decided to start homeschooling Mandy. Public school environment was toxic for her, physical bullying, distractions, and missing school due to illness was interfering with her getting an education. We let her finish her second grade year and started. Preparing to homeschool. I had homeschooled my oldest daughter in the past and she is now in the top ten of her senior class. Guess I did ok. But I was not prepared for the "ideal"homeschool day to be shattered. I had grandeur dreams of sitting at the kitchen table and Mandy and Hannah being still and quiet and being perfect students. However, at is not reality. I quickly learned that we had to do what worked for us. That means some days are spent with Mandy laying on the couch while we read thru Science and History. Some days it means sitting at the kitchen table teaching Mandy and praying that I don't get splattered with the paint Hannah is using to do her "homework" next to me. Sometimes it means allowing her to do independent work once she gets the basic concept. Some days we sit outside and do our work while Hannah runs in circles around us in the yard. I have adjusted and learned to deal with e fact that some days are going to go smoother than others, and that is life. Some days I feel like I am failing, some I feel like I'm doing good. I can tell you we are finally getting into the hang of things. There are trips to the zoo, trips to the library, educational DVDs from the library for bad days, and there are learning experiences in everything we do! Math can be reinforced by using fractions in cooking. How, you ask? Well if we are making a recipe that calls for one cup or a 1/2 cup of something, take away the one cup and half cup measuring cups and make them figure out which cups to use to get the right amount. Not only is it fun, but the kids learn how they will use math in real life. So if you are a newbie to homeschooling, like me, don't give up and don't get discouraged. You are doing a good job! You are showing your children that you love them enough to give them the very best. Your time is the most valuable thing you can give your children! So don't get discouraged if the curriculum you first bought doesn't work for you. Re-sell it and get something that does work. By sticking with it and refusing to give up you are teaching your children to persevere! Ramblings of a homeschool mom