5 years and homeschool on the brain

12:09am my time and I get a text from Jason in Afghanistan saying Happy Anniversary! It is so sweet he remembered to tell me right when it turned October 20th over here. He's busy at work over there. Well, it's been 5 years with the man I love. Can't sum it up anymore than I am even happier now and more in love with him than ever.

Homeschooling our kids has entered my heart once again. And I don't mean just now, I am thinking about homeschool through grade school. It's such a huge decision, but I just keep coming back to it. I am thinking of homeschooling because who better to be a good influence on your child than the parent? Why pay thousands of dollars for a private Christian education if I can give them one for free?

I want to do this for so many reasons. And there are so many reasons why I do not want to do it. I find myself wanting to give my children their education from home so I can spend more time with my children, teaching them, watching them learn and grow. I have teaching in my heart and I know I would be great at it. With so many homeschool curriculums out there it is so accessible to become your child's teacher. I would love to have the freedom to expose my children to God's word more than any school could.

And the social aspect? That WAS the biggest concern for me until I read a woman's blog explaining that she no longer worries about the lack of socialization her child would get from home school because she balances out her children's activities such as dance class, swim lessons, church groups, Sunday school, and park play groups. This definitely put peace on my heart with that issue. Who says a homeschooled child has to miss out on social interaction? Yes, they are at home instead of school playing with other children, but that doesn't mean they can't find that social interaction elsewhere.

Selfish parts of me wants to put my children in public school when they turn school age so I can get a job to increase our income. I know this in turn will provide more for our family. A second income never hurt anyone, but when I think about the time we have on this earth, I think of making the most of it.. and if when I think of homeschooling my children, I think of so many possibilities. I have glimpses of our classroom at home and doing arts and crafts, teaching them about our country, doing counting activities, taking them on outings to explore nature, and being able to see them learn in a Christian environment where they don't have the negative influences of their peers. Some may think of this as sheltering a child. I believe a home school child doesn't have to be a sheltered one. There are plenty of ways to broaden the mind of your child and open them up to this world.

After I get settled in at our new place, I am excited to begin a mini homeschool in their toddler years. Hopefully by testing these waters I will find out if homeschool is going to be our calling. I just want to do things that will make the Lord happy.

I also have hopes to expand our family! Prayers :)