Homeschooling

Well, we have have officially been homeschooling for about a month and a half now. How is it going? Fantastic!!!! I had, in no uncertain terms, told Kaitlyn just a mere 8 months ago that she could forget about being homeschooled because her mom was not built for it. You all know, those are famous last words.....right? Let me caution you if you do not. I have done innumerable things in the past 2 years that I am sure I have said I "would never do." I am wondering if this is not a direct challenge to the Lord? :)

Well, I have to say, that by whatever means we arrived here, I am very thankful. I know many people (many of you, in fact) were concerned about our decision. That in turn, made me concerned about it also, but I always ended up back at the basic fact that it didn't matter what anyone (expert or not) said, THE reason we decided to do this was because we said 'yes' to the Lord. We chose not to lean on our own understanding, but to trust in Him and His ways. Because my understanding told me that I did not have the patience, I did not have the training, and I was pretty sure I did not have the gifts or knowledge needed to pull this off. But after all, we followed Him to Africa, what was a little jump like homeschooling?

So, why has it been so great? (I am trying to anticipate your questions :) ) Well, I have finally put my finger on it. I know my children again. It began when I sent Kaitlyn off to 4 yr old preschool just 4 hrs a day, 3 days a week. Our days became a little more hectic. Naps didn't occur as they should because they didn't fit into the schedule. I no longer knew what Kaitlyn experienced, said, and heard 12 hours out of her week. I felt an instant disconnect--because not only was I not there, but she couldn't tell me. That feeling has only grown as her hours in school have grown and then passed on to Samantha as she began school last year. Well, this has all just become plain to me, as I rejoice in our relationship now. I find that we laugh together and grow together daily. We have time for daily devotionals, meals together where I actually sit down WITH them and complete all their school work in a timely manner. Olivia loves having her sisters home during the day and I have seen an obvious love, respect and affection blossom between Samantha and Olivia. (No--it's not all roses--they both still love to make each other scream- but they also hug each other and comfort each other when they are hurt. You would not have seen this 3 months ago. When asked to give each other hugs, Samantha had to be forced and Olivia sternly said, "NO!")

As for our curriculum, we have pieced together a classical curriculum based on the recommendations of a friend that has been doing this for 6 years and the book, The Well Trained Mind. We are extremely happy with the curriculum. The girls are excelling in their work, and don't complain too much :) Kaitlyn is 3/4 the way through a 300+ page of a children's version of Pilgrim's Progress and has to be made to put it down to do her other work. She has already read Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver's Travels (Children's versions) and distinctly liked the first but not the second. They are both doing well with the phonics/spelling program and their math. They are hitting all their objectives on their assessments and are overall, proud of themselves. In addition to the above, we do grammer (K), History (K and S), Basic Chemistry experiments (K and S), Reading comprehension (K), beginning reading (S) and piano (K and S).

After school, Kaitlyn trains with the swim team at LICS (where she went to school last year) on Mondays and Wednesdays and Samantha does beginning Soccer on Tuesdays and beginning swimming on Thursdays at LICS. On Fridays, we just have spelling tests and a few school things to wrap up and then we head to our friends' for piano lessons every other Friday. While one is in the lesson, the rest of us are by the pool.

It has been a rewarding experience. My understanding so far.....time for more diligent, consistent and continuous training of my children in the ways of Lord, and a wonderful gift to me--joy in my children that I did not experience so fully before.

So I appreciate all your thoughts, concerns and prayers. Please keep them coming. Just because there is joy, doesn't mean there aren't struggles. I am, after all, trying to teach basic math and reading skills to a beautiful, fanciful child who cannot manage to count the pennies as instructed until the 5th time I ask her because they are dancing together across the hundred number chart. Or, she doesn't want to read today, because I insist she actually look at the word she is trying to figure out instead of trying to figure it out on some chalk board that only she can see on the ceiling. Specifically, I need prayers for patience, this week as I try to figure out strategies to help her focus.

For those of you that have been praying for Samantha's itching/allergy issues, I thank you and I praise God for answered prayers. We changed her oral medications at our last Dr. visit I mentioned in an earlier blog, began soaking baths to rehydrate the skin, began using special sunscreen and not so special soap (ivory) and covering her in Aquaphor prior to swimming. The result has been an itch free child (with the exception of mosquito bites of course) without any signs of sores (except mosquito bites) or skin infections. (Now, if we could just eradicate the world of mosquitos, we'd be totally set!). What a blessing!!!! That has also added to my joy by removing those anxieties on her behalf.

Well, I think that sums it for homeschooling. Thank you for all your prayers and support!
More to come soon...(hopefully.....you know me :) )

Love,
Zookeeper