More Reflections on Homeschooling

After all was said and done I was asked to speak with a group of ladies about my homeschool experience. It was a small group of homeschoolers and there were several of us that were asked to share. One question in particular that I recall was "because I started in homeschooling our daughter's in jr. high and high school did I feel they missed out on anything and did I regret homeschooling?". My answers are still they same-No they did not miss out on anything academic or social because of our choice to pull them out of school and I never regretted for a single moment our homeschooling. Yes, I wish we started off educating them at home because I had to go back and reteach the fundamentals. Our homeschooling was probably one of, if not the richest times in my life. I still see so many benefits our girls received in their lives from it and most of all the bond we have today is deeper still because of all we have done together. Some of the ladies who shared at this meeting actually were so glad to be done with teaching their kids and I found this so very sad. But I have always loved teaching and still often find myself doing it with our grandkids. I've known many homeschoolers and while they may know their children and enjoy the child-parent relationship, I can honestly say that next to my husband our girls are truly my best friends. Many have told me that our family unit, our closeness in proximity and in time spent together, is unusual and I for one am so very thankful that we are so close. That's probably why I am so drawn to the simpler, plain life because to me it epitomizes a tight close bond of family.
My daughter's were able to experience life set apart that they wouldn't have if they were in school; they were able to partake in learning things that are character building in a way they couldn't have if in a restricted classroom environment.
Today I have to be very careful because I am very much against public schools and so I find myself having to button my lips if talking with others.
I know many enjoy the school systems and flourish in it but for us the simple truth is that we loved learning at home.

Reflections on Homsechooling-part two

While we lived in Cupertino, dubbed Silicon Valley, our two girls did attend public school. I can tell you every day was bathed in prayer and before school we spent time in God's Word. When the time came to move I had decided that even if it was my heart's desire to homeschool them that my submitting to my husband was more important. I never lost my fervor for it and continued to be an advocate. As we began to look at moving out of the area to a smaller city and slower lifestyle we wanted our girls to enjoy their childhood and be little girls, for time catches up with children soon enough. My husband got a transfer up north, an hour outside of San Francisco to the Agilent plant in Santa Rosa. Because I was so active in the schools, volunteering and serving on different committees we were able to choose an elementary school nearby where both girls could go. After going through a major earthquake in San Jose, having our girls together at school and nearby was a high priority. Although the school was a good one and ranked high there were still things that grieved my heart. When our oldest daughter was in sixth grade the school did some testing for learning disabilities which ran in our family. By the end of that school year we had decided that the school system could no longer meet her needs and we enrolled in a christian school's Independent Study Program. This was such a miracle in and of itself. That first year of homeschooling we only kept our oldest at home; I wanted to settle in with her and get a handle on the schedules, books, learning styles etc before attempting to homeschool both girls. Dear hubby was still not 100% behind it and wanted to take each year as it came, watching to see how it would go and how the girls would do. Each year the standardized testing came back with phenomenal results showing academic growth in all areas. What strikes me the most about this journey was that the Lord took something that the world looked at as a negative(our daughter's learning disability)and used it to answer our prayers. His grace was so abundant during these years~not that it was always smooth sailing but He led us each step of the way. When my oldest first came home she was a non-reader but I was able to find out her passions-at the time it was horses-and teach reading around that area. We were also blessed at the time to be able to lease a horse and give the girls riding lessons. Beyond that though the primary focus of all our schooling and learning was the Lord and His Word. I wanted every subject to have a spiritual application and I kept stressing that our girls needed to give it their best, whatever they were doing as unto the Lord.
There continued to be much prayer on my behalf that the Lord would bless our efforts and hubby would see how this choice was the right one. One of the greatest achievements that our oldest attempted and successfully put together was hosting, with her future husband, a conference for highschoolers given by Eric and Leslie Ludy. This was the first of many conferences they hosted and for a 17 yr old to put together a conference for 200 youth with advertising on the radio, papers and at churches astounded me. I'm not sure I could have organized such an event as an adult. Needless to say after both girls graduated dear hubby said he wished we had started when they were in Kindergarten. He is an advocate now and does whatever he needs to do to help our girls homeschool their children. One of the biggest blessings for our family was capturing our daughters hearts. When children go to school it is easy for them to foster bad attitudes and as parents we don't always see them. When at home you can see a problem and deal with it immediately. Many have asked me if I think that God wants everyone to homeschool. I have only walked this journey of faith in our family but yes, I do believe that the Lord's perfect will is for parents to educate their children at home. Is it always possible? No there are situations that make it impossible and in those circumstances if a parent truly seeks God's heart and will on the matter I believe He will guard the children. As a young christian mom I remember saying I didn't think I could homeschool our girls because one of them had a very strong will. A dear Titus sister looked at me and said "that's probably the reason you should homeschool her". Am I still an advocate-100% and I would be disappointed if my daughters and their hubby's choose to educate out of the home but what others choose for their families is between them and the Lord. Today my daughter's continue to demonstrate the organizational skills they learned from homeschooling in their homes and the lives of their family.
If this is something you desire but are unsure of due to learning difficulties please feel free to contact me by email.
Noreen
werhis3@gmail.com

Reflections on Homsechooling

When hubby and I were first married we lived an area of California dubbed "silicon valley"-it was the area booming with computer growth etc. Although we were raised in Palo Alto this is where we started our family and lived for 12 years. I was blessed to be a stay at home mom as were most of the ladies in our neighborhood. It was a surprise when one of the neighbors who had become one of my dearest friends, pulled her two grade school children out of the Christian school they attended to homeschool. At this point in time, homeschooling was still an unknown phenomenon. At the same time another dear godly friend started homeschooling her children. She had a big family; at the time I think she had five which seemed "big"for the times we were in. When both families started to homeschool our daughters were still preschool age. I was a preschool teacher and so I hammered these dear sweet sisters with every question I could come up with. They were gracious and patient with me and explained all the reasons they were homeschooling. It seemed that a group of ladies in my life who had older children were all deciding to go this route for their kids education. I waited and watched and began to see the fruit of their labors in the lives of their children and in their families. I was convinced; our two daughters instinctively knew that this was the right thing to do and preceded to tell everyone that they wanted to homeschool. Dear hubby had other thoughts on the issue, mainly that he wasn't sure the long term outcome would be beneficial. The girls and I began to pray about this and I became an advocate for homeschooling. It would be many years before our prayers were answered and in a way we didn't anticipate but as I look back I can so clearly see the hand of the Lord in this and see how we were prepared. Needless to say, our girls did attend public school while we lived in this area of California. God is so faithful and loves to bless us. It's amazing to see how seeds can be planted and watch how they are watered and tended. I'll share more of this story tomorrow. Blessings on your day.

Yesterday hubby and I began our search for a home to purchase. We met our Realtor and viewed two houses; the second one was a definite possibility. I am asking the Lord to lead dear hubby and so am letting him take the role of finding a home that the Lord has without my jumping ahead and controlling where we end up. I've done that too many times in my life and know that the only place I want to be in where the Lord chooses. Although we are anxious to be in our new home, we are taking our time looking. So many have encouraged me that what the Lord has for us may not look like what I think it should but again my motto this year is TRUST. So I have turned over my desires and hopes and am waiting to see what comes about. It will be so fun to watch as this search unfolds. I am already praying for the house and the neighbors and the ability to be good stewards of all the blessings He gives.

A New Hunt

A little over a year ago dear hubby and I joined the rest of our family and moved from California to beautiful Colorado. The reason was simple~the Lord was leading us here. He began to reveal His plan to both of my daughter's and their husbands that this was the place He wanted us. Each couple had been praying about a potential move and where they were to go. Our Father is so faithful, He led each couple separately but undeniably to move to this area of Colorado. So within a few months we had all prepared for the move and made it. There was only one glitch-our home didn't sell due to the poor housing market in Sonoma County. So we leased it to a nice family who absolutely love it. Now that we've been here a year we've decided we really need to purchase a home of our own. We are very hard on homes and with two dogs and having 7 grandkids over, we can be really rough on a house. We did try to buy one house but we came in second; so today we are beginning our search again. It is difficult to find a house that meets all our criteria but with the Lord on our side, nothing is impossible. It's exciting to think about actually painting color on walls as we are so tired of white walls. It's also fun to think about planting....but lest I get ahead of myself I need to take a deep breathe and see what looks feasible. My motto is Trust in Him who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than I desire.

A Symphony In White

Winter has made its way to our area. I love the snow and the beauty of seeing it on trees-it is pristine and takes my breath away. This year our snowfall hasn't been as much as last year but experiencing the beauty of new fallen snow still inspires me. We don't have trees this thick here in northeastern Colorado but I love the look of frost and snow on our trees none the less.
I've heard from a friend in northern Washington that they got 2' of snow before New Year's and it hasn't stopped snowing since. I'm so thankful that I don't have to brave the cold unless I want to and I can sit with a cup of tea and just enjoy the weather. I love living in a state that has four distinct seasons; not that Ca. didn't but our winters are so much more beautiful. Wherever you are today may you find beauty that inspires you.

Fabulous Friday

The first Friday of the New Year makes me think of yesterday, look at today and gaze to tomorrow. Yesterday many took advantage of the sales but for the most part hubby and I stayed home. My back has been acting up a tad and kicked in my sciatica so I wanted to baby it and not make it worse. I haven't had a bout of sciatica in 12 years and I really don't want to get as bad as I did back then. So although I took it slow and easy, I did sit and work on hubby's quilt a bit. We ran a couple of small errands and during the day my back was fine. Last evening our girls and their families came over; we put on a Little House On The Prairie movie for the kids and the adults played Mexican Train with dominoes. It was great fun to be together bringing in the New Year....quality family time is what we enjoy the most. By the time everyone headed home we had 7 little ones very tired and ready for bed.
Today my back and hip are acting up so I've taken the Advil and put on a topical Camphor rub so will probably just stay in. There were more errands to run but they can wait til tomorrow.
Having dealt with my back before I know what to do and what not to do so I plan on babying it!
Tomorrow we are supposed to get snow; it's been almost 2 weeks since our last snowfall so I'm ready to enjoy a quiet day of just watching the beauty of it. Have a great weekend. Blessings to you and yours.