A New Adventure!

I never thought I'd homeschool.

I had always pictured homeschoolers as a bit of a hippie group, non-conventional in every sense and somewhat anti social - boy was I wrong. With all my researching I discovered that homeschooling is very different now days than what it used to be. There are so many groups and organizations supported to it that not only provide the social interaction that children need, but also the academic. They get together is groups to study subjects like the different states, each family taking a particular state to study and present time, or they go together as a group to field trips, or play sports. There is so much available out there that a parent can truly taylor their child's educational needs. It takes time and energy, much more time and energy than putting them into a school but if done right I suspect can be hugely rewarding for both the child and the parent.
Mind you this is all from a rather idealistic perspective right now, but I have studied and read a great deal and have finaly decided to become one of these unconventional, anti-social people and are planning on homeschooling our oldest two! One of the first things we hope to do is increase the physical activity of our children. The times that we've been able to do that we found that Kayla's anxiety has lessened greatly and Isaac is able to sleep better at night. I also wish for them to have other skills that are very fundamental to life,. It's no secret that having everyone home will mean the house is much dirtier, and there will be more meals to cook, but this is where I can use it as a learning opportunity for the children and teach them essential skills that life will require of them. We will also have the time to study .... anything we want! And to whatever depth we want! Then of course there will be time to play, play and PLAY! In my time with Eli and his therapies, I've come to understand that play is not just pure leisure but education as well and when learning is fun and appliciable it can become a joyous habit.

A surprise gift from a dear friend - a broken mirror to a recycled chalk board for our new journey!
Here we are at the hot air balloon festival. Kent and the older two got a chance to go and ask lots of questions and was shown in great detail how it's all done. The little two and I played around while listening to music and I had some fun with the camera.

Keila's personal favorite

Isaac liked the rocket

So there will be no more busy work, or time wasted with other students uninterested in learning, there will be far less drama (oh my goodness was there drama for Keila in kindergarden!) Hopefully there will be less need for medication for ADHD and far less anxiety. I'm sure many of you think I must be suicidal her! As if life wasn't busy enough with one child with special needs and four children in total, but I think we can at least try it out for year and see where it takes us. It's really not all that different from what we've always done in the summer. We have swim team practices, and each day we've done worksheets in math or reading. The only thing is that it'll be summer all year long! Wish us luck on our newest journey!