Homeschooling: Year One

Homeschooling. I don't know what the word conjures up for you, but for me, homeschooling was a beautiful piece of my childhood that I've always planned to repeat for my own children.

We spent a lot of time in co-ops, group activities, sports, and field trips. These were days spent listening, observing, and asking questions, in addition to enjoying the friendship of my brothers and other peers. 

Largely not pictured here, we spent the majority of our time at home. Workbooks, prayer cards, cursive handwriting practice, and spelling baseball filled our mornings, and by not too late in the afternoon, we were free to play outside.

I've always seen it in God's Word that as a parent I was responsible for the Truth poured into my children throughout their day; 

Deuteronomy 6:5-9

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

With that in mind, I chose my college degree: Elementary Education. I was never planning to teach in a school, but was looking forward with excitement to someday teaching my own children. Ten years later, surrounded by God's little blonde gifts, it's time to begin.

In college, we took a class called Homeschooling Methods. Different bits of different methods stood out, but Charlotte Mason's method of homeschooling, a heart directed towards God, filled with living books read aloud, narrations (which means telling back what you've heard in an oral, written, or drawn form), and time outdoors spoke directly to me. Her method begins with her volumes, but have been adapted into many curriculums. For our family, I chose to follow Ambleside Online. 

Largely, Ambleside Online is a book list, and having my mind set on it for years, I asked God to help me to find these books, for free. Partially in the little, free libraries around our city, and largely in the used bookstore that we've kept a running credit at (when we were paying off debt, people would give us all sorts of things to sell. Any books/DVDs would be turned into store credit at our local Book Exchange, which has multiple locations), I highlighted my way through the list, putting my hands on hundreds of them for free. I'm still working my way through the later school years!

As we turned the bend into this school year, I filled in the gaps for Year One (effectively first grade), ordering what we didn't have. This week, it was time to start!

As well as I've planned my entire life to start this journey, one piece of this week that I did not see coming, was the coronavirus test that I have scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. So far, we're fine; just sore throats, an obscured sense of smell, and body aches. We'll keep you updated (on the results and the homeschooling).