Tuesday, March 30, 2010

My decision to homeschool…

When I found out that I was pregnant, homeschooling was the farthest thing from my mind. As Cinnamon grew, I thought more and more of Kindergarten. I couldn’t wait. Thoughts of shopping for school clothes and supplies, sending her off on the school bus for her first day of school in her adorable new school clothes. Joining the PTA. I was so excited. I had my son when Cinnamon was two. Still school sounded like so much fun. I sent Cinnamon to preschool when she was three. After all I wanted her to be fully prepared to start school. Around this time I started looking into the schools she would be attending… I was shocked. The ratings were terrible. I found a school nearby with good ratings. Problem solved- we would just get a variance. We then went on about our lives looking forward to school. I was looking forward to a little ME time! As Kindergarten loomed closer I couldn’t shake this uneasy feeling.

I did some more research on getting a variance and saw that it is not a sure bet. We wouldn’t even know if we had been excepted until right before school started! At this point I decided to enroll her in the school down the street. What else could I do? Registration day came… and went. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I had been praying to be led in the right direction. Homeschooling had been mentioned in a few conversations prior to that, but I wasn’t interested. I really can’t explain what happened next. I just woke up and knew with a doubt that homeschooling was the right decision. Since then I have argued prayed several times to make sure I was hearing my answer correctly and each time I have been given an answer that is just to loud and clear to ignore. So here I start my journey. I am terrified of the unknown. I am also filled with joy knowing that I am doing what God wants me to do and he will help me every step of the way. He knows what is right for my children and I am putting my faith in him.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

The artist…

Cinnamon is definitely the artist in our family. The other day she asked for a piece of paper, a red marker, a black marker, scissors and glue. A little while later she gifted me with this…

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A couple days before this adorable ladybug, she surprised me with a flower bouquet…

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I love getting all of these wonderful gifts.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Upcoming…

Although we will not officially start our homeschooling until Fall, we have already started practicing. My kids love it. We start our “school day” with our gospel study. We have also been working on a lapbook based on the book “If you give a mouse a cookie”. My children are enjoying it so much that we already have a huge list of upcoming lapbooks. Horses, Airplanes, Spring, Easter, ABC’s and Stars just to name a few. We have been practicing sounding out words and working a little on Math skills as well. I have been reading a chapter book out loud and Cinnamon loves it. We read a lot of picture books and we are watching a Signing Time video everyday.

Amazing LDS Homeschool Resource

I  found a wonderful resource for LDS Homeschooling Families. Several homeschooling woman share tips and inspiring messages as well as tools that we can use to make our homeschool experience better. I definitely recommend checking out Latter-day Homeschooling.

Just getting started…

I have been reading a lot of homeschooling blogs lately. I have learned so much from them. They have really inspired me. I decided that I would start my own. Hopefully at some point I can help or inspire someone else.