Who am I?
Hello Fellow Homeschoolers!
As you can guess, I am a homeschooling mom of 3 wonderful kiddos! My eldest daughter just turned 13 <gasp!> My middle child, also a girl just turned 10, and my baby boy just turned 9.
I started my adult life in graduate school, receiving a grad degree in Early Childhood Special Education, and was certified to teach kids of all abilities (from gifted to typically developing, to kids with severe disabilities) from birth thru third grade.
But, by the time I finished grad school, my second baby was on the way...followed QUICKLY by my third, and so I never returned to the classroom. And I'm grateful, because it seems as if the public school system has been breaking down quickly ever since.
I had always wanted to homeschool, but with 2 infants in the house, and a very strong-willed and impulsive 5 year old, I quickly changed my mind and sent her off to school. Then, when the time came, I sent off my second...and I sent my baby to preschool. But, it wasn't working out. He is very very smart, but also very impulsive and hyperactive. He wants so desperately to be a "good boy", and he is, but he also has a lot of struggles trying to follow the "normal" behavior expectations that our society has for young boys, even though most boys aren't able to follow them!
And so, the night before he went to his Kindergarten practice day, I felt very strongly that God was leading me back to the idea of homeschooling my children. I very clearly heard God ask me, "Who are you to try and shove him into a mold that the world says he should fit into, when you know darn well that's not who I created him to be?"
And that was all I needed. The very next day I got confirmation from the teacher who's classroom he was in that morning, that homeschooling would probably be the very best thing for him...and I ordered curricula that day and bound myself to homeschooling.
Even though I had been COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS til all 3 of my kids would finally be in school just the week before, I was so committed to the calling I felt on my life, that I never, EVER have turned back from my decision to keep them home. Sure, some days are tough. Heck, some days are a DISASTER! But it's just life! It's messy, and complicated, and hard...but it's also beautiful, charming, and fabulous!
I have tried SO MANY curricula over the last 4 or 5 years. And between my experiences with the curricula as well as my experiences in special education, where we are taught to take a curricula and tailor it to fit ANY child, I think I have something valuable to offer to the homeschooling community. It's my sincerest desire to help give as much advice and info as I can on choosing curricula, on making any curricula fit your family, and also on how to just breathe and know that whatever curricula you do choose to use....it should never confine you or box you in. It can and should be used as a tool, to your advantage! And shouldn't be giving you (or your child!) a headache!
As you can guess, I am a homeschooling mom of 3 wonderful kiddos! My eldest daughter just turned 13 <gasp!> My middle child, also a girl just turned 10, and my baby boy just turned 9.
I started my adult life in graduate school, receiving a grad degree in Early Childhood Special Education, and was certified to teach kids of all abilities (from gifted to typically developing, to kids with severe disabilities) from birth thru third grade.
But, by the time I finished grad school, my second baby was on the way...followed QUICKLY by my third, and so I never returned to the classroom. And I'm grateful, because it seems as if the public school system has been breaking down quickly ever since.
I had always wanted to homeschool, but with 2 infants in the house, and a very strong-willed and impulsive 5 year old, I quickly changed my mind and sent her off to school. Then, when the time came, I sent off my second...and I sent my baby to preschool. But, it wasn't working out. He is very very smart, but also very impulsive and hyperactive. He wants so desperately to be a "good boy", and he is, but he also has a lot of struggles trying to follow the "normal" behavior expectations that our society has for young boys, even though most boys aren't able to follow them!
And so, the night before he went to his Kindergarten practice day, I felt very strongly that God was leading me back to the idea of homeschooling my children. I very clearly heard God ask me, "Who are you to try and shove him into a mold that the world says he should fit into, when you know darn well that's not who I created him to be?"
And that was all I needed. The very next day I got confirmation from the teacher who's classroom he was in that morning, that homeschooling would probably be the very best thing for him...and I ordered curricula that day and bound myself to homeschooling.
Even though I had been COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS til all 3 of my kids would finally be in school just the week before, I was so committed to the calling I felt on my life, that I never, EVER have turned back from my decision to keep them home. Sure, some days are tough. Heck, some days are a DISASTER! But it's just life! It's messy, and complicated, and hard...but it's also beautiful, charming, and fabulous!
I have tried SO MANY curricula over the last 4 or 5 years. And between my experiences with the curricula as well as my experiences in special education, where we are taught to take a curricula and tailor it to fit ANY child, I think I have something valuable to offer to the homeschooling community. It's my sincerest desire to help give as much advice and info as I can on choosing curricula, on making any curricula fit your family, and also on how to just breathe and know that whatever curricula you do choose to use....it should never confine you or box you in. It can and should be used as a tool, to your advantage! And shouldn't be giving you (or your child!) a headache!
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