We homeschool!

My kids are homeschooled. I love having the kids home with me. There are many times when I want to pull my hair out but overall it is awesome. I love the freedom. I love the relationship that my children have with each other. I love the opportunities we have to do things during the day. I love teaching my children what I think is appropriate. I love teaching them about Jesus and reading to them from the Bible. It is ideal for my family.

We have a curriculum but I have difficulty following the schedule. People tell me that kids need a routine. Well, I am not sure about that but I do know I get less whining when we do the same lessons each day. My son who is 3 listens in on what we are doing so I know he is taking some of it. My 6 year old is doing 3rd grade spelling which is definitely beneficial for her. We all read books together which builds our bond as a family. Reading is one of my favorite things to do and I don't do it very often because there is always something else to do. But this way I get to read stories I may not have read before. I picked this curriculum because of the reading. I actually had to hold us back from reading it all the first month we had the curriculum. My oldest and I would have finished it all and I am glad we didn't because now the 6 year old can read and we can all go through it together. We don't do our school the same time each day. We don't do it 5 days a week. We don't do each subject each day. We are a work in progress.

And about that socialization thing...it's the least of my worries. My kids have plenty of friends. They are comfortable speaking with adults. They have manners. They know how to behave (for the most part) in public. We have church, ballet lessons, field trips, parties, events, etc. in which they are around plenty of people. I really think that is the silliest excuse in the world to dislike homeschooling.

Here is a book that I loved about Homeschooling:
Real Life Homeschooling: 21 Families Who Teach Their Children at Home by Rhonda Barfield

Here is a homeschooling website with a daily devotional that I receive every day:
http://www.aophomeschooling.com/

Here is the website for our local homeschool group in Austin:
http://www.main.org/aah/