Beginning.

I have recently begun to think about what our life and days will look like as we have more children and begin homeschooling. Upon thinking about it, I realized that it is my desire that we never have a time where we actually go from not schooling to all of a sudden schooling, but rather that learning and teaching will be a natural progression. Now, I recognize that there will come a time when I will need to sit down and think about a curriculum, will need to plan the flow of my childrens' days and learning and will need to set some goals regarding these things. At the heart of this though, is the desire I have to take every opportunity that presents itself as a teaching moment - even now at my childrens' young ages.

As I have begun to think about all of this I have found myself feeling extremely overwhelmed at this possibly daunting task. I have been perusing various curriculum web sites and looking over some ideas for working with pre-schoolers. Some list, quite exhaustively, different schedules, activities, crafts, quiet times, devotions etc. to begin with young children. I happened to be looking at some of these things tonight. With each consecutive link I clicked I quite honestly could feel myself beginning to have a panic attack. Now, if you know me at all you know that "scheduled" is definitely not a word that describes me. I share with my mother this very curious trait of getting things done in no particular or sensible order. We are quite known, the both of us, for starting to put dishes in the dishwasher and noticing that the windows are dirty. So, we wash the windows and while walking past the kids bedroom to put away the window spray we notice that some particular pants don't fit them anymore so we proceed to sorting their clothes. While doing this we may notice a pair of perfectly good jeans with a hole or two in the knees, but hey - they're still in fairly good condition - might as well cut them off and sew them into shorts. While sitting at the sewing machine we see the fabric we bought for the kitchen windows and think to ourselves, "Well, now's as good a time as ever..." and the scene goes on. Until it is 11:30 and we are just getting the ingredients together to bake a pie for the following day's potluck at church. (My mom does not actually bake pies, but I do)

I certainly don't want to dismiss the benefit of a schedule. The reality though, is that I am not naturally this way. To some extent I have learned to apply a schedule to different areas of my life. For example, I have found that putting my children on a sleeping and eating schedule - especially while they are infants - has helped me maintain my sanity and joy. And theirs. I have also learned that Jazzercise students prefer knowing a specific time to show up for class. Doctors also like when you show up at the time, or at least near the time, they have your appointment scheduled. I suspect that, like these things, I will find for myself a comfortable homeschooling schedule. But for the most part I currently do not plan out the majority of my day.

When I think about teaching my children I know I need to take my God-given personality traits into consideration. I realized this tonight after I clicked on a link that led me to this:



Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure it is a perfectly wonderful book. But it was pretty much the exact moment the panic attack started in. I began to sense a strange feeling rising up inside of me. A constrained, imprisoned, Martha Stewarty feeling (no pun intended) that I wrote about in a previous post. At first glance I thought to myself, "This looks like it should be a great idea." That lasted for a few seconds... until I felt like I was going to throw up from the pressure of it all. I realized, and am getting better at realizing earlier than later (you know, not after I've already spent a ton of money on all the organizational tools), that this is not me. This does not mean in any way, shape or form that I know what is me. Especially in regards to homeschooling....yet. But I do think it is a start, a beginning you might say, to figuring out what homeschooling is going to look like for our family. In my imagination I envision some sort of loose schedule and curriculum that gives me room to be me - spontaneous, random, adventurous, fun. One that insures that my kids learn their times tables and grammar and are able to carry on a coherent intelligent conversation - but also allows for the joy of the unexpected experiences and fellowship that God often presents to us.

Most importantly, I was struck by the revelation that the wisdom in all of these tools and books originated from one source. God and His word. So for now, I have decided that this is the place for me to start. I am confident, that through devoted prayer, consideration and purposeful action, the Lord will reveal to me our homeschooling path.

In the mean time, this is more my style and will at least get me out the door and onto the path.