Five years later, and how our homeschool has changed.

The other day, Facebook reminded me that we started this incredible, crazy adventure of homeschooling five years ago!

It has been in some ways just like I thought, and in other ways, not at all how I imagined.

We have run the gambit of curriculum, field trips, school styles, children styles, ups and down, but in the end, I'm thankful for what we are doing as a family. 

When I first had Samuel, I knew I would want to home school.  Convincing my husband, however, was another story.  We started doing this because I was bored with a toddler and he LOVED to learn!  We figured we would do our own free/library/printable curriculum and just get him through the preschool phase until he went to a good school.  What started off as a way for me to structure our day a little bit, because a new love of teaching and learning.

I have gone through my doubts, trepidation, and changes over the years.  At times Samuel went to private school part time and homeschooled part time.  At times they were 100% homeschooled.  At times we were homeschooling other families with us.  At times we were 100% private school (but I was still their teacher thankfully), and now we are back to 100% at home, with lots of other activities and trips.

I have tried my run with curriculum I grew up with, and some I loved, some I didn't.  I have found styles that suit our children and family at different stages, and I'm thankful for our flexibility to change as we need to as a family and do what is best for our children in their various phases of life.

I could post all day about why I love My Fathers World, why we switched to Master books, why I don't push handwriting classes, why we do co op at times and not at others, etc, etc, etc.


This is all to say that the reason we home school is because our family is constantly changing and evolving, and in the long and short of it I've learned a few gems.

1) Be willing to change and grow as your family needs it. 

We do not stay the same as moms, our children do not stay the same as people.  The ability to adapt to what we need and what they need is one of the many blessings of homeschooling.

2) Find your encouragement! 

There will be the naysayers, the hard seasons, and the times you want to ship them off to school so you can clean your house and rest for a week.  Remember that although it is physically and mentally draining, it is a season.  Remember WHY you started homeschooling.  Remember the precious memories with your family.  Find those other moms who love, encourage, and lift you up with Bible, hugs, and smiles when you feel you can't keep going.

3) Teach to your child and don't sweat the small stuff.

I have three very unique boys, and what works for one doesn't work for them all.  Don't stress when one was reading at three and one is still not caring at all at 5.  Don't stress when one is a book worm and one hates even the simplest book.  Remember that they have different personalities, and in the end the love, grace, and compassion you have with your children with teach them way more than any curriculum will.

4) Keep GOD the focus and the rest will follow.

Although last, this is by far the most important.  I learned to quit stressed every thing academic (even though we still think they are very important) and teach our children about God, and keep the Bible our focus.  This teaches more than anything else can. 

5) In the end, your kids will grow up, and it will be okay.

Mom, remember that during this long, painful, and sometimes exhausting time of life, you are raising the next generation of daddies, mommies, men and women.  Sometimes you just need to embrace the hugs, the messy papers, and the moments where they finally "get it" with their math!  At the end teach what you can, but if they aren't the next spelling bee champion, or even if they are, that's not what's important. 

We home school so we can instill and teach Godly character into a generation that is greatly lacking.  Pray, love, and rely on God, and in the end it will be okay.

Here are some sweet memories (out of my thousands!!) of our homeschooling over the years.