Where Do I Begin?

Welcome to my blog.  I hope that you will find encouragement in the words that you read here.  

We are back from CHEO refreshed and energized.  CHEO is our annual homeschooling convention.  We are so blessed to have a conference so close to us.  We look forward to the opportunity to hear inspiring speakers, look over curriculum options and talk to other homeschooling families each year.

I have thought about writing a blog for quite some time.  The conference inspired me to finally do it.  I remember our first conference. My sister and I walked into the vendor's hall and our eyes widened with excitement.  Curriculum as far as the eye could see.  Booth after booth after booth.   We promptly walked to the first booth we saw and bought everything they had.   We returned to the hotel room, opened our boxes and we were overcome by the smell of the new textbooks.  Were we in heaven?  Our children were in kindergarten and 1st grade.  A whole box of textbooks.  Really!  It never crossed our mind that this may not be necessary.  That this might be overkill.  Oh, and did I mention it was June. Yikes!

So September came and out came the box that had long been forgotten when the "new car smell" had worn off.  What do I do with all of this?  I had home educated informally for kindergarten using things like Bob Books and beginning readers.  I just used what anyone would normally pick up at Border's for their preschooler.  My daughter just seemed to learn whatever was put in front of her.  Not because she is smarter than average, but because she was learning naturally doing things she loved. 

Now what to do with this more formal approach?  I pulled out the formal lesson plan and started to highlight and check and double check to make sure I had all my ducks in a row.  The check I missed was the "Is this really how my child learns?" box.   No it wasn't.  She loved books and still does, but setting up a schedule of starting at 8:30 and jumping from book to book and ending at lunch was not in the stars for us. 

It did not take long for my sister and me to make our first eBay curriculum sale only to be followed by many more.   I am the queen of selling math curriculum.  I believe one year I went through 6 different math programs.  I fortunately made my money back on eBay each time.

I relay this story right out of the gate to let homeschooling moms know they are not alone when they have moments of despair.  You are not the only mother who has stood in the middle of a vendor's hall and felt like yelling at the top of her lungs in frustration hoping someone would just pick a curriculum for her.  Or the only woman who has purchased multiple curriculum in one year.  You are not the only one who feels like checking to see if that yellow bus could stop in front of your house.  I've even said it out loud.  But I know that I am doing the right thing.

I have learned over the years that this quest is God led.  He is overseeing my decisions.  My daughter is a little seed that will grow to be whatever God has planted her to be.  I am here to encourage her in her journey.  Regardless of what I do, God has her back and she will fulfill his plans for her regardless of what mistakes I make. 

By the way, God has led us to a fantastic curriculum that fits our family and our beliefs.  We have used it for several years, except the year we didn't.  That's another story.  I will share more about it in future posts. 

Many Blessings