If asked a few years ago, I would have confidently said we would never be a homeschool family. I've encountered many homeschool families that didn't seem to do much school. I really looked down upon them and felt bad for the kids. And as a former teacher, I didn't feel that most parents could really TEACH their children.
Then as life tends to do, I learned a few things as I got older. More and more family and friends around me seemed to be homeschool families. And their kids were smart. And educated. And well behaved. And learning. And I began to view it differently. I saw that it COULD be a good thing, and the kids could really benefit from it.
I homeschooled Nathan for half of his kindergarten year. We weren't happy with his teacher and saw his reading level recede. We pulled him out in December of that year and absolutely loved it. I loved the time with Nathan each day. He learned kindergarten stuff, and I learned that homeschool could definitely be a positive way to educate your child.
Fast forward to our move to Vegas. We learned two things very quickly. 1) the middle school was nearly as big as the town where I grew up. and 2) the elementary school wouldn't be able to help Katelyn as she learns english or give her 1 on 1 help.
Then we learned about the implementation of the Common Core Standards. I could talk about that for days and the many reasons that we so strongly oppose them, but they are driving the curriculum here in Nevada. That was the nail in the coffin.
So I researched (and researched, and decided, and researched some more, and re-decided) curricula. I made myself crazy but finally chose to use Sonlight for our homeschool.
When those boxes arrived, I felt like it was Christmas morning. We are having SO much fun! Matt does a lot of independent work. His placement test in math said he was ready for Algebra. I decided to go with pre-algebra. He just doesn't need to push it and if it mostly review, that's okay. He's reading novels that match the time in history that he's studying (World History from beginning of time). He's studying Bible, science, and language arts..all 6th grade level. And he loves it!
The littles as I call them, are doing 2nd grade math, Bible, and handwriting together. Nathan does 2nd grade language arts, and Katelyn is doing kindergarten language arts. We work for 3-4 hours a day straight through and generally we're all done by lunch.
It's amazing when you don't have to stop for specials, or announcements, or discipline, or bathroom breaks for the whole class. My kids grab a snack when they want it, read curled up on the couch or sitting on my lap, take breaks when needed, talk about God and the Bible freely, master material and move on at their pace, don't have any homework, and can devote time to things that they need to work on more. We have the freedom to do field trips to the nature preserve and the children's museum. We read novels like Charlotte's Web and then watch the movie together.
It's just plain fun and I literally look forward to it each day. I know there will probably be some days where I'd like to drop them all off on the front steps of the school, but we're moving right along and I'm really proud of us. Shanahan Academy is in session and it's awesome!
