Homeschool Memoirs - Introduction

As each year flips by homeschooling seems to define more and more of who we have become as a family. Christ has used this backdrop to shape us, grow us, challenge us, draw us close to each other and to Him, and, oh yeah, cover the academics as well.

I remember the first conversation I had with my husband about homeschooling. I believe it took place in the car on the way home from the hospital with our first child. I verbally expressed my thoughts about never letting this amazing bundle far from our sight. We had been through so much to welcome this precious miracle and had fallen instantly in love with him. I could not imagine ever waving good-bye to him as he got on a bus to learn who knows what from who knows who. My husband did not quite share my passion in that first conversation, but it didn't take too much time with this life-changing child for him to realize the overwhelming job that parenting presented and recognize that the scattered hours around a school day would not work for raising this child the way we felt responsible to.

Now, that bundle recently celebrated his eleventh birthday and four more bundles have arrived over the years adding fuel to the fire for our homeschooling passion. Raising and mentoring our children requires a non-stop commitment to our kids, and in our home homeschooling makes up an important part of that mix.

A few of my "students" pose for a picture with me.

A little more about me, the teacher of this one room school house with five students and a dog . . .

- A passion for missions. My husband and I spent a year overseas teaching and working as dorm parents at a mission run school for nationals. While we haven't spent much time on the field, missions is a part of conversations, prayer, and giving in our home on a daily basis.

- Laid back! I love schedules and organization to get me going, but once the ball is rolling, I don't stress much if we hit a few bumps along the way.

- Love to learn. I credit this to my parents and a teacher I had in high school that made me realize that even history could be fascinating with the right teacher (story teller, news reporter, whatever you want to see them as). Aside from computers and anything motorized there isn't much that I don't get excited about learning about.

- I couldn't stick to one curriculum to save my life. I started with Abeka (seemed safe), tried Konos, Sonlight, Saxon, and now into my second year with Ambleside Online (and whatever books I feel like pulling off my shelf to supplement). Each path has some things that I enjoy and some things that I don't, so I prefer to mash it all together into my own blend of learning and growing spiced up with six different personalities and learning styles just to keep things interesting.

- Eagerly desiring to live thinking only of what God thinks of me. I Corinthians 4:5, my verse this week.

For more me-trivia, check out my seven random facts.

I look forward to participating in these two memes on Wednesdays to learn from other homeschoolers and maybe, just maybe, offer a little encouragement from what I have learned and the experiences in our home. To hear how our first week of homeschooling is going, I wrote a bit here.