It has started in a rush, a whir of excitement and pencils and pens and books. "Teachable moment", right? We had discussed with Ben a few times that instead of going to a public elementary school, we would start schooling at home. He understood, to a point. When he asked when we would start school, I'd describe it to him as chronologically as I could....after "the whole summer!", "Lots and lots of sleeps!" Always trying to speak with as much enthusiasm as possible. When we came home from convention, we explained to Isaiah and Ben what the books were for. The books sat and languished behind the couch neatly arrayed in baskets. I hadn't had a chance to really go through the curriculum, to organize, or to plan. We were busy with summer! Playing in the pool, blowing bubbles, going to the park once, twice, sometimes three times a day.
Then the questions started. "Mommy, when can we start school? Today? Tommorrow? How many sleeps, mommy? I like school." I put him off for maybe (?) a week and a half, possibly two. Something clicked about the millionth time he asked. We could start today, or tomorrow, we could do it in the park, we could do it however and whenever we wanted. I had forgotten this reality and luxury of homeschooling. (Which is quite funny, being formerly homeschooled myself, but I digress.) So there we went, in the middle of a harried morning, with Dad rushing out the door to work and me eying what seemed like an insurmountable to do list of chores after a vacation time. (Why is that? Why don't the chores do themselves? What do you mean the pile of clothes that have been shoved into bags are wrinkled and dirty and must be washed?) Off to the land of knowledge, paved with books, lined with freshly sharpened pencils, and led by the intrepid adventuress formerly known as momma. A few steps into this land, and I found old friends waiting. How could I have imagined the delight I would feel at introducing new travelers to this land? Why did I wait so long? Why did I question my map-reading skills so?
And so it has gone for the last week and a half. A routine (long sought, but never quite achieved before now) emerged, a rhythm and pattern to our days that has been sorely felt in times past. We start our days with school, after beds are made and our morning chores; we do seat work for about an hour (math, handwriting, etc.); Lunch for the children while momma reads aloud; then the littles go down for naps, and the boys get to do the fun, messy parts of schooling- science experiments, painting. They trundle off to the playroom, and I get my lunch and go over the next days assignments. It's almost too easy. After knocking my head against the wall for so long regarding a regular routine, about character training, about attitudes, here the solution has come and fallen in my lap. Ben's whole attitude and outlook changed in a matter of days!
Oh, I realize that not every day or week will be so good, or blessed, and many may be the time that I step out on the path without consulting my Guide...but I pray that those incidents will be few and far between. I also draw immense benefit from the fact that I was homeschooled and I have my mother with which to consult; this is not unfamiliar new territory for me like it might be for someone else. The main curricului have changed very, very little since I have gone thru. I can tell at a glance what will work for my kids, because I've used nearly all of it myself: KONOS, Abeka, Saxon Math, Alpha Omega, Math U See...they are a familiar list to me, and I can detail exactly what I like and dislike about each one. I'll admit that my copy of a Well Trained Mind is dog-eared.
In the end, I decided upon Sonlight Core K with Advanced Readers. Because I am teaching both Ben and Isaiah, and they are so close in age, I felt that this would be the best fit. I could have gone a bit more Classical combined with Charlotte Mason (ala Ambleside Online) but I also knew that for my first year, I needed everything spelled out, already scheduled, so that we could just pick up and go. I know for my own self that I would burn out quickly if that was not the case. The beauty of this type of curriculum is that I can do the same thing with both kids, and fit it both to their needs. Isaiah has a keen mind, but it is not reflected in his writing skills due to his physical difficulties with SPD. An average teacher would glance at him and probably write him off as ADHD or something, and fail to understand his needs.I love that the Core K is right at his level, and it's okay if he is doing Pre K handwriting work- one is not dependent upon the other as it can be in a more "traditional" curriculum. Ben, on the other hand, is assigned slightly more difficult work than the instructor's guides suggest.
So here I enter a new title, a new hat: in addition to momma, boo-boo kisser, book reader, lego builder, and many more, I am now, adventuress. I do pray I will be a wise teacher, and that I learn from the best of all, my own dear Teacher that guides my days.
{Isn't the one room Oak Hill School House delightful? I was struck by the fact that if one homeschools, very little has changed from then to now! My husband posted more pictures of it here.}
