Home Education

Last year my husband and I made a major life changing choice for our family. We pulled our 3 school age children out of public school.  This was such a hard and scary decision for our family.

Many things lead to this decision.  I had one child that absolutely hated to go to school. For two years in a row, I literally drug him to school.  Day after day I left him crying in the classroom. Walking out of the building and leaving him there was one of the hardest things I had to do day after day. Many days I walked out of that building with tears in my eyes.  This child of mine is a very bright and curious child, he is also a type 2 child.  Any of you that are familiar with The Child Whisperer know that type 2 children do not like to be rushed and they are very detail oriented.  He had a second-grade teacher that gave him the impression that he was stupid because he took his time doing his 100 problem math sheet.  This teacher continually kept him in from recess because he didn't finish the sheet. Slowly he went from loving to learn, to hating it.  As a result of the first time I handed this child of mine a math worksheet, he hid in a corner and cried that he was the dumbest in the class.  It has been a hard road, but we are finally getting past those feelings of being stupid.



At this same time, my daughter was also struggling with 4th grade Common Core Math.  We spent hours at the kitchen table trying to make sense of this fuzzy math, with her crying the whole time.  The contention level in my home was so high.  Hubs would come home from work and be irritated that homework was taking so long and that it was so frustrating for our daughter. We could teach her traditional math but she would get the problem marked wrong if she didn't do all the additional steps (and unnecessary) Common Core math requires.  By the end of the school year, I knew that something needed to change.  I had a child that thought he was stupid and another that was not accomplishing a solid grasp of multiplication and division.

I spent the summer researching, praying and looking for other options.  I signed my 3 children up for a local charter school that teaches Saxon Math and still believes in reading Classic Literature to children.  The day before school was to start, I felt all wrong about sending them to this charter school.  It's a great school, but I knew that it wasn't right for my children.  I called the school and told them my children would not be attending that school year.  That left me with only one other option - homeschool. I was a little nervous to tell my husband as I wasn't sure what his reaction would be.   Thank goodness he was willing to let me give it a try.  He sat down with our kids and told them what he expected to see from them. I know God answers prayers and softened my husband's heart to allow me to homeschool our little ones.

We are now into our second year of home education.  We have had tears, laughs, interesting field trips, have learned how to make rubberized eggs, and have read a lot of good classic literature. It isn't always easy, but I'm learning who my children are and what their desires are. I have an aspiring Pharaoh, veterinarian, and scientist that can take all the time they need to research their various interests.  Hopefully my child won't be too disappointed when he can't become a Pharaoh, but for now, dressing up and make believe are a big entertainment.

I'm grateful I followed the prompting, to home educate, that I received from my Heavenly Father and took this great leap of faith. For now, this is the right path for my family and it works for us.

So, I have been working on developing copy work and other things that are helpful to our learning that I will be sharing here along with my recipes. I thought it fitting to share here as my kitchen table isn't just for dinner any more.  My kitchen has become a place of nurturing spiritually, intellectually, and physically.  I hope you enjoy our adventures along with us.