sundae sunday

it’s the eve of the first day of school.  we’re on a year round school schedule so our school year starts in july.  the school year ended a week ago.  tomorrow i’ll have a second grader and a fifth grader.  (gasp!)  i thought it was fitting that we celebrate tonight with some sundaes on a sunday.  we made ice cream, topped them with oreos, sprinkles, and strawberries (well some of us used the strawberries anyway).

it’s a big day tomorrow.  both of the older two will be going to school.  to refresh your memory i’ve been homeschooling my oldest son for the past six months.  he wanted to be home.  he had friends, he made excellent grades, he never got in trouble, he was not picked on or teased.  he simply wanted to be home.  so i agreed to try it.

i researched.  i blog stalked homeschooling families.  it looked so appealing.  i truly believe that god wanted us to homeschool my son.  i don’t doubt it for a moment.

i also don’t doubt for a moment that god is now telling us to send him back to public school.  after a few months of my son  being home, my husband and i noticed that my normally cheerful son was very unhappy.  he didn’t complain, he never said he was sad, he just didn’t smile as often.  he didn’t talk as much.

about a month and half ago he came to me and told me that he really felt god was leading him back to public school.

later when i told, on separate occasions, some friends about this they laughed and smirked over god “leading” him back to school.  as if it was just his ploy to go back to school.  i don’t know why any other believers would find this improbable.  it shouldn’t.  my son is follower of christ.  i know that god speaks to him and though him.  i know that, as a follower of christ, god has a plan for my son.  my son has a purpose.  god’s plan for my son was for him to be homeschooled and now his plan is for my son to go back to school.

this is not a homeschool/public school debate.  they both have their merits and it’s a decision that all parents should actively make.  don’t just assume you’ll do one way or the other.  i think all parents should be informed about their options when it comes to schooling.

let me preface this next paragraph…i believe god gave us a wonderfully complex mind.  he wants us to learn and explore and discover what all we can about science, music, art, math, and literature.  learning is important and i encourage my children and myself to challenge our minds and embrace new learning opportunities.  that being said, our education has no eternal value.  so while i know that i would be able to provide a much richer and stimulating learning environment for my children.  that’s not what is most important in their lives.  

i want them to grow spiritually.  that is where i want the focus to be.

when my son was in school, he was a voice for god.  he would talk about his beliefs.  he would ask if his teachers attended church.   he stood up for his beliefs.  it gave me a chance to teach him the importance of standing up for what we believe in, but not take on a judgmental attitude.   i was able to teach him the importance of sharing god’s love but realizing their decision is between that person and god…to not be discouraged if they don’t accept.

when he was homeschooled, he was not often around children who needed to hear god’s truth, he was not often around adults who would be touched by his kindness. 

so yes, i do believe that god laid it upon my son’s heart to go back to public school.

these past 6 months have not been a failure.  as i told my son, he had the courage to go after his heart’s desire (homeschooling) despite fears, despite the uncertainty,  despite that many people, including some family members, who were not supportive of the decision.  so many adults are too afraid to take that first step.  my son was not afraid.  and i am so proud.  i believe that god will use these experiences to mold my son and to mold me.  

i’d homeschool again in a heartbeat if god calls me to do it.   i’ll miss my oldest as he goes back to school.

a lot.

linking up here

what have I done?

Do you know what that is?

It's homeschool material.

Yeah, I said homeschool.   Way back when, it was something that was very much the center of my focus.  My son, Caleb, has complained about school nearly everyday since 3 year old preschool. That's no exaggeration.

So for 6.5 years I've listened to my son tell me how unhappy he was at school.  I've listened to my son beg me to take him out and homeschool him.  I've listened to him complain.  I've listened to him cry.  I've listened.   But I didn't act.

I should have taken him out last year in third grade.  He had the world's most discouraging teacher.  But, I didn't.  I was then determined to take him out in fourth grade because I could not handle a repeat of third grade.  But my husband and I figured we'd let him meet his teacher first.  We all fell in love with her.  So he went to school.  His fourth grade teacher turned out to be the kindest, most nicest teacher I have ever come across.  She was encouraging, she was specific with criticism, she was supportive, we had struck gold with her.

Imagine my surprise when he still wanted to be homeschooled.  As much as he loved his teacher and enjoyed his friends, he still wanted out.  This time I said yes.

Today was our first day of  Dutchman Academy.  (I wanted to all it Dutchman Academy of Excellence, but I didn't want it to sound snobby.  I wish I had picked it though now.)  I think it went well.  We are learning Anatomy and Physiology, we're studying NC history and American history, we're working through math, spelling, vocabulary, poetry, dictation, we'll hit art and music, and all that good stuff.

I know that a lot of people are against homeschooling.  That the kids turn out weird.  Honestly, I felt the same way until a year ago.  I think both homeschooling and public schooling can be great options when done right and when the scenario is beneficial for the children.  My daughter is still in first grade at school.  We adore her teacher (we really lucked out this year!) and she's worked with us to challenge our daughter who's working above most of her classmates.  My little girl loves school!

I may take her out next year or I may not.  I may send my son back next year or I may not.  We have some people in our family who are, um, less than supportive of our decision.  And that's their opinion.  We also have some who are supportive and know what a difficult decision this was for us.  Most importantly, though, my husband and I are on the same side.  I wouldn't be able to take this on without his support!  I like knowing  he's behind me and believes in me, I'm a lucky girl.

I strongly believe that God has a plan for each of my children.  Their plans are different from each others, they will take different pathways in life.  They will face and encounter different joys, different challenges, different sadness than anyone else.  Homeschooling my son just might be the pathway he needs to take.   Learning at home might be the path he needs to take to become the man God wants him to be.  I believe I would be failing my son if I didn't give this a chance.

I'm confident I can teach him.
I'm scared I will go insane.
I'm curious to what I will learn.
I'm nervous he will feel lonely.
I'm worried that I'll fail him.
I'm excited about spending this time with him.


My son and I both are a mix of emotions. I wrote him a letter telling him how proud I am for taking this step.  So many adults are too scared to try something new.  They're terrified to take the first step towards a goal they've dreamed about for a long time.  Often adults will not step outside of their comfort level.  They won't challenge themselves.  They are too afraid of making mistakes so they don't go after their goals.

It's just the beginning and I'm already inspired by his courage. How awesome is that?!

We might both discover we hate homeschooling. But at least we can say we tried it.  And that's more than a lot of people will be able to say.

PS.
I can guarantee you one thing though, I will not start wearing denim jumpers.


 

confessions

I have a few confessions to make.

1. I don't always recycle. I admit instead of cleaning out the peanut butter jar or cleaning out the half eaten carton of yogurt, sometimes I simply throw it out. Terrible right?

2. I have been known to sneak a few tidbits of the best of my kids Halloween Candy, like the packets of M&Ms, Kit Kat, and Hershey's bar and then I leave the Smarties. Gasp.

3. I have been known to take an extra long walk to the mailbox to check the mail even when I know it's too early for the mailman to have come just so I can take a break from playing Barbies.

4. I often claim I spent a lot of time cleaning my craft room when in reality I was sewing. But, really, getting projects completed does turn into a clean room, so this one doesn't really count.

5. I always swore up and down I would never, ever, ever, homeschool. I didn't want my kids to be one of those kids and I was most definitely not going to be one of those moms. Be careful what you say you will never, ever do because now I've made the hard decision to homeschool my kids for now. (But I will still not be one of those families!)