The Fun of Homeschooling

I am a new homeschooling mom and it seems that the different techniques of homeschooling are limitless and that is exciting and intimidating all at the same time.  My research journey over the last eight months or so has been incredible.  I love research, yes, I am a research nerd and love it.  When I want to know about something I set my sites on it and do everything I can to learn as much as possible about it.  I have learned so much yet have way to many untapped resources to learn from still.

The library has of course been one of my best buddies as I have gotten several books there so that I can read what everyone has to say about this subject.  I have spoken to several people about their journey, each being different completely from the others.  I have also gone to countless blogs, read articles online, followed people on Twitter and Facebook just so I could catch a glimpse into the "real life" of homeschooling.  And finally I have been taking a course meant to prepare me to homeschool and certify me in my state.  The course has given me a lot of the same information but it has also given me some new things to consider as well.  For all four resources I am grateful.

I have been able to learn what kind of learning style I have, what kind my daughter is and how that will affect each of us.  What a wonderful thing to know and how sad that the schools do not learn this about each child or implement their best learning technique to help them.  It isn't the school's fault, this is not school bashing.  How could they possibly be able to be so uniquely different for each student?  The amount of classes would be incredible to tailor each class for such needs.  

This is where homeschooling makes so much sense to me.  Now that I know what my daughter needs and my abilities, I can give her the best possible education she could get.  I can nurture her in all her needs and help her realize all her desires and show her how to be the best girl she can be.  No one can love her like I do.  No one can be as invested in her education like I am.  No one can be more focused on what she needs than me.  And no one can give her the one-on-one attention that I will.  How awesome is this!!!

This is where some of the fun comes in.  Creativity!  Who needs to learn like all the other kids?  Who wants to do that?  Let's make it FUN!

So one thing we are starting tomorrow is a journal.  Now my daughter is writing and reading but her writing is limited and she gets frustrated because she can't write everything she thinks yet.  She is just starting 1st grade.  She can spell many words and read quite a bit, but it is still frustrating for her.  So what we will be doing is this... I am going to sit with her with a journal and ask her to tell me what she wants to say.  I will write it in her journal for her and at the end if she wants to add anything then she can.  This will be used to just get her in the habit of thinking about things to write every day, to record her thoughts.  And one day soon she will be taking over.  

Another thing we will be doing is a note journal.  I have wanted to do this since she was born but never thought she was old enough.  But I now think she will do great because I am going to tweak it!  How it works is this...  In the morning I will write something in a journal for her to read sometime during the day.  That evening she will leave me a note after she goes to bed telling me something she wants to say... in her best words... or pictures.  It will be a running dialog for us.  

I got the idea from a friend that said that her and her daughter did the same thing from grade school until her daughter moved out of the home.  Her daughter got to the point where at night she would share all her pain and "embarrassing" questions in the book when it was either to scary or to painful to say out-loud.  My friend was grateful for this journal because she was able to give feedback to her daughter without her daughter seeing her reaction to some things.  She was able to think about her response and that was so valuable to her daughter.  Her daughter to this day says it was the most amazing gift her mother ever gave her... and open un-judged forum.  A place where she always felt safe and loved an unconditional acceptance.  I want that for my daughter.

The third thing we are doing is note cards.  When my daughter learns a word we are writing it on a note card and putting it into a recipe box.  We will make up sentences with these cards daily and see what kind of silly things we can come up with. 

Finally, we will be learning about one state or country each month.  How they came to be, how old they are, who lives there, what are their cultural differences, what do they eat and all that kind of fun stuff.  I think it will be a blast.

Of course there will be some of the normal stuff in there too,  but these four things will cover a lot of areas and be fun at the same time.  I am so grateful to be able to be with my daughter and see her get so excited to learn and have fun doing it.  God is good and He knows us and takes care of all we need, even when we are not sure what those needs are.  Be blessed and enjoy your homeschooling days!

As the button says bellow, check out the Hip Homeschool Hop!  Just click on the button and it will take you right there!  This is my first Hop, and I got a bit long-winded!  Unfortunately, I am a writer and that happens.. LOL   Enjoy!