My Homeschooling History
I have been homeschooling for the last 13 years, enjoying the ups and downs, ins and outs, and triumphs that make homeschooling so unique. I have been mom, referee, nurse, teacher, student, stand-in principal, bus driver, chef..... basically an all purpose activities coordinator. I have taught my children everything from algebra to zoology, and learned a whole lot in the process. I have shopped and scoured the internet at night, looking for interesting science projects, and an easy way to build an indian village!
Homeschooling is fun because it gives you the freedom to choose your own adventure. You can pursue the things that interest your family, while still making sure they learn the basics, and fulfill the requirements.
Though some homeschool moms won't care to admit it... we all have those days when it's 4:30, dinner is waiting to be made, and the house is a wreck....and school is STILL not done yet! I told my husband once that I can do an efficient school day, make a tasty and healthy dinner, and have all the laundry caught up....but I can only accomplish ONE of those tasks on any given day! With the dawning of high schoolers in my homeschool, that track record has improved. Now with laundry and cooking assistants, things are much better! That's the advice I like to share with moms of small children....they will grow up and it does get easier!
The Name of the Blog:
Be The One. My kids like to joke that they are at the top (and at the bottom) of their class. Each is a class of one. Yes, they have friends and fellow homeschoolers who share their grade, but every day...in their class....is ONE student. This school year, we have a senior in our homeschool! I asked her to pray about a theme for her senior year. The theme she chose, "Be the One", was inspired by a song we enjoy, asking "Will you be the one to answer God's call?" There are many verses and inspirational quotes about this topic. We decided that a virtue and character trait we would like to instill in our children is the desire to be the one to answer God's call, to stand for what's right even when those around you choose not to, and to be a volunteer. It's the way that David and I have lived our lives, and the way we want to teach our children to live.
A New Venture
I have decided that it would be fun to share some of the ideas and things that I have learned with some of the other homeschooling moms in my circle. Hopefully, if all goes well, this blog will be a fun place to share homeschool ideas and also give some encouragement. One of my favorite things about being a homeschool mom is the "extras" that we get to do. The day to day "three R's" can get tedious, but I like to sprinkle fun stuff in to make life interesting. My kids can be pretty entertaining!
As I learn how to set up and post to this blog, I hope you will follow it and that it can be an entertaining source of ideas and inspiration to help you on your homeschooling journey! Please feel free to share feedback on the ideas and how you used them, or some topics you would like to see discussed!
Happy Homeschooling!
Erica
