I haven’t updated this blog for a while! So much time went by there where I didn’t really feel like I had anything to add. Now, I feel behind and like I have so much to say! :)
I feel like I am making some real progress in my homeschooling choices!
A few weekends ago my hubby and I traveled up to the Detroit area and attended our first homeschool convention! I was anxious to have him sit in on some of the workshops and hear stories other than those I tell him that I read about online. We both very much enjoyed it. We didn’t stay for many speakers. We sat in on their “beginning homeschooling” session. It was great to not only get such wonderful encouragement, but also to see all those homeschoolers! Drawing 8 to 900 people a year, shows me that I am not even close to being alone in this decision! I came away from that experience energized and excited to get started! But still thinking, how in the world do I make all these huge decisions!?!??
Later that week, after returning home I made a much needed trip to the library to get my hands on some books. Since then I have finished 3 titles. (The whole reason why I haven’t had time to catch up on my blog!) The first book I read was “100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum” by Cathy Duffy. I LOVED reading through this book! I was really feeling overwhelmed by ALL the options out there concerning curriculum. Having her share so much information about learning styles, methods, and finally book choices to match those styles I was feeling pretty good! I again spent lots of time online looking up choices and companies that I felt interested in. Narrowing things down and seeing what other people had to say. AND PRAYING!!! I couldn’t imagine making these kinds of decisions on my own! I learned a long time ago to ask God for guidance the FIRST time around, saves me a lot of backtracking and regrouping in the long run! :)
I really feel like I’ve come up with most of the curriculum I’m going to be using to start the school year off. That gives me a big sigh of relief! I feel like a large part of the burden has been taken from my shoulders.
The second book I read was “The Homeschooling Handbook”, by Mary Griffith. This was a good book too. It covers a lot of things I’ve read online and some things mentioned in the first book. But I have found that repetitious reading the past few weeks really helps things sink in to my feeble brain and make it stick.
My third read was “Homeschooling the Teen Years”, by Cafi Cohen. I enjoyed reading other peoples letters that were in this book, as well as all the encouragement of sticking to schooling at home during these years. I had been really nervous at the thought before, being as I am pulling my 13 year old out of 7th grade this upcoming school year. Turns out the more I hear other families’ successes and methods, the more confident I become.
I ended up buying “100 Top Picks” online, I found that this is a great reference book, and there was so much I wanted to be able to mark and highlight as I read through it the first time! I am glad to have my own copy now that will surely help me over the next few years!
All that leads up to this past weekend. I convinced my hubby that we really needed to go to our conference here in Indiana. He agreed, after being in MI and hearing all their laws and things, we knew this would be beneficial for us on the home front.
Once again I was blown away! I couldn’t believe the size of this place, it was incredible! Since we had to pay a pretty penny on this trip, we stayed for more workshops than we previously attended. They were all wonderful, and once again I was greatly encouraged to be around so many homeschooling parents (and children)! It’s not nearly as uncommon as I would have once thought. We were able to meet our regional representatives here in Elkhart County. That was great too, I now have someone I can email and correspond with, knowing she can help me get fitted in a group that will meet my family’s needs.
I also bought my first little set of curricula while I was there! I had been struggling to come up with a unit study for the girls that I could tie History into. I decided on KONOS in a bag, Africa 9-18 week study. This really excited me, finding a shorter unit study that I could do with both my soon to be 8 and 13 year old daughters. We have strong family heritage ties in Africa, my husbands grandmother was born in Nigeria, on the mission field. She’s written a book on the life of her parents there, and told the girls so many stories. So this is going to be a key element in making the study enjoyable and come to life for us. I thought it was a great place to start! I was anxious to buy this book so I could look through and decide what elements I would plan on using.
So as I sit here now, I am feeling pretty good! I have a few books I have picked up, have a general plan of the direction I am going to start. Have confidence in the simplicity of pulling the girls out of school, exc. I am anxious to make the next step, getting in contact and finding a group to get involved with. Having personal relationships with other homeschoolers will make this seem much more normal to me I am sure!
I feel like I am making some real progress in my homeschooling choices!
A few weekends ago my hubby and I traveled up to the Detroit area and attended our first homeschool convention! I was anxious to have him sit in on some of the workshops and hear stories other than those I tell him that I read about online. We both very much enjoyed it. We didn’t stay for many speakers. We sat in on their “beginning homeschooling” session. It was great to not only get such wonderful encouragement, but also to see all those homeschoolers! Drawing 8 to 900 people a year, shows me that I am not even close to being alone in this decision! I came away from that experience energized and excited to get started! But still thinking, how in the world do I make all these huge decisions!?!??
Later that week, after returning home I made a much needed trip to the library to get my hands on some books. Since then I have finished 3 titles. (The whole reason why I haven’t had time to catch up on my blog!) The first book I read was “100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum” by Cathy Duffy. I LOVED reading through this book! I was really feeling overwhelmed by ALL the options out there concerning curriculum. Having her share so much information about learning styles, methods, and finally book choices to match those styles I was feeling pretty good! I again spent lots of time online looking up choices and companies that I felt interested in. Narrowing things down and seeing what other people had to say. AND PRAYING!!! I couldn’t imagine making these kinds of decisions on my own! I learned a long time ago to ask God for guidance the FIRST time around, saves me a lot of backtracking and regrouping in the long run! :)
I really feel like I’ve come up with most of the curriculum I’m going to be using to start the school year off. That gives me a big sigh of relief! I feel like a large part of the burden has been taken from my shoulders.
The second book I read was “The Homeschooling Handbook”, by Mary Griffith. This was a good book too. It covers a lot of things I’ve read online and some things mentioned in the first book. But I have found that repetitious reading the past few weeks really helps things sink in to my feeble brain and make it stick.
My third read was “Homeschooling the Teen Years”, by Cafi Cohen. I enjoyed reading other peoples letters that were in this book, as well as all the encouragement of sticking to schooling at home during these years. I had been really nervous at the thought before, being as I am pulling my 13 year old out of 7th grade this upcoming school year. Turns out the more I hear other families’ successes and methods, the more confident I become.
I ended up buying “100 Top Picks” online, I found that this is a great reference book, and there was so much I wanted to be able to mark and highlight as I read through it the first time! I am glad to have my own copy now that will surely help me over the next few years!
All that leads up to this past weekend. I convinced my hubby that we really needed to go to our conference here in Indiana. He agreed, after being in MI and hearing all their laws and things, we knew this would be beneficial for us on the home front.
Once again I was blown away! I couldn’t believe the size of this place, it was incredible! Since we had to pay a pretty penny on this trip, we stayed for more workshops than we previously attended. They were all wonderful, and once again I was greatly encouraged to be around so many homeschooling parents (and children)! It’s not nearly as uncommon as I would have once thought. We were able to meet our regional representatives here in Elkhart County. That was great too, I now have someone I can email and correspond with, knowing she can help me get fitted in a group that will meet my family’s needs.
I also bought my first little set of curricula while I was there! I had been struggling to come up with a unit study for the girls that I could tie History into. I decided on KONOS in a bag, Africa 9-18 week study. This really excited me, finding a shorter unit study that I could do with both my soon to be 8 and 13 year old daughters. We have strong family heritage ties in Africa, my husbands grandmother was born in Nigeria, on the mission field. She’s written a book on the life of her parents there, and told the girls so many stories. So this is going to be a key element in making the study enjoyable and come to life for us. I thought it was a great place to start! I was anxious to buy this book so I could look through and decide what elements I would plan on using.
So as I sit here now, I am feeling pretty good! I have a few books I have picked up, have a general plan of the direction I am going to start. Have confidence in the simplicity of pulling the girls out of school, exc. I am anxious to make the next step, getting in contact and finding a group to get involved with. Having personal relationships with other homeschoolers will make this seem much more normal to me I am sure!
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