Friday, July 25, 2008

Beginning the Homeschool Journey

Well, my 4 boxes of homeschool curriculum came in... last week! It took me almost a full week to finally work up the nerve to open them up and begin figuring out our plan of attack. I've seen a few people's systems and all of them are very different but work well for them. Just like parenting, I guess we all have to figure out what works for us and our kids. So, I'm still discovering what I think will work best for us but I've also come to understand that it will be a constant work in progress. A question was posed to me just yesterday that I think needs to be answered as I determine how I will proceed in this new homeschool adventure. "What is my goal?" Is it to prepare them for college? Is it to prepare them for life in the working world? Is it to prepare them for service? Is it simply to make them self-sufficient learners? When I determine my goal then my path to get there will be much clearer.

Last year I had the chance to ask a former missionary kid what his feelings were about growing up in a boarding house away from his family for year at a time. I have to admit, I have immediate judgement that the kids should be with the parents, reaping from the lessons of service and ministry, and that they themselves are one of the parents' mission fields. (It's so easy to have everything figured out when it isn't your life or your circumstances!!) His perspective was that his parents were giving him the best advantage in life by sending him to an English school so he would be best prepared to do whatever God had in mind. He also said that in our Western culture we tend to idolize our kids, making our decisions revolve around them and their short term comfort. Ew, idolize! That's not good and short term comfort is not the legacy I want to leave with my kids. I thought his point was one worth examining. Unfortunately, I'm still considering it and have not come to any rock solid conclusions. Maybe it's just fine to keep it in the back of my mind as a parental check point but I have a feeling I'll have more to blog on this thought as we get into the school year.

The original point of pursuing homeschooling was due to the fact that our summers would be fully occupied with camps and in order to have a vacation or visit family and friends we'd need the flexibility that homeschool would offer. Also, in Newport, the schools are 20-30 minutes away one way in the non-snow season. With one child going 1/2 days and the other full days it just seemed like we'd be in the van all day long! Even with our future still in limbo it makes sense to be ready to go when God says, "Go!" and to begin this homeschool journey while I'm still in familiar territory.

As for the camp, I have no further updates. We have two interested parties for the business, whether they are viable options to purchase remains to be seen. I'm guessing this whole thing will work out in a way that will blow our minds and not be anywhere near the original plan that we had put together. We're good with that. I can't wait to celebrate but for now we wait on the Lord. He is good!!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What curriculum are you using? I'm homeschooling Eva this year, too, and am using a mis-match of things that hopefully will work out well.

Anonymous said...

We're going to start with A Beka. I felt it was the most straight forward, covers all the bases, and it's easy to follow for the teacher. After we're into it I'll figure out what tweaking we need to do, if any, and then decide what to do for next year. I think I put way too much pressure on myself and hopefully it will be easier than I expect.

Anonymous said...

I loved homeschooling last year. It was the best decision for our family for that year. Good luck to you.

Anonymous said...

Thank you!!!

Lord, lift me above my own narrow horizons, that I might fulfill your true vision for me. - B.J. Hoff