So, you're thinking about homeschooling, eh?

So, yes, we are thinking about homeschooling. For the last few months, I have been toying with the idea and finally introduced it to Eric. Much to my surprise, he didn't shut it down immediately! Of course, he had some concerns and we began discussing those, as well as my own. The more we have talked, read and learned, the more I believe this is a big possibility. Eric seems to be on board as much as I am - we both still have our moments of doubt, but discussing through those and using each other as a sounding board has been good. I'm elated that he seems to be as into this as I am. He's even pointing out other families that homeschool - and he seems surprised that those families seem so normal. I think he envisioned Little House on the Prairie or something to that nature. "No honey, this ain't yo gran-mama's homeschool."

At the moment, we are trying out a bit of preschool-homeschool type things, just to see if it's something I want to pursue for myself. I realize, it's def time consuming - especially having a four month old in tow. But, I also realize we are homeschooling, whether we are putting effort into it or not. It's just a natural thing that mommies and daddies do (for the most part). He helps in the kitchen, helps me do chores around the house, we talk about things all day long - colors, shapes, why's, what if's, stories, songs, etc. - all throughout our day. We don't just 'get through the day', we live it. That's what it's all about, right?

But, knowing myself, I need some sort of agenda or list I can check off to feel like we've accomplished something. I'm not talking about a list of things Ryan can do, but more like a list of things I can look back on and say "Hey! Look what we did today!".

So, to start off the process, I explained to Ryan that we were going to start doing some school type stuff at home. His first question? "Will we ride a school bus?" Aha. Mental note...find some sort of bus we can ride/explore/be curious about...FIELD TRIP! Next? He asked if we could have snacks at "learning school". Silly me, I forgot where his heart lies...

So, we do some sort of "learning school" or "tray time" every day. Some days, it's only one thing (those are the days we are out and about all morning and come home for a nap in a flurry, play for awhile, get dinner ready...sometimes...and by then it's daddy-time, dinner time and then bed time). Some days, we do everything I have planned for the week! Those are the days he just can't get enough of "learning school" and asks for more and more. Those are the days I feel so proud, comfortable in the decision of the journey, excited about his enthusiasm and in general, just happy. Although, those are also the days I feel the most chaotic b/c the rest of the house looks like a hurricane swept through it b/c we dropped everything and played "learning school" all day long. Some days, we get nothing done b/c Ryan is having a typical 2.5 year old day and is digging his heels in on every idea I have. Those are the days I question my sanity and think "there is no way I can do this, it's just not going to work". But, we get through them and my enthusiasm returns. Lucky for me, Cassada has been an easy baby so far.

I do feel like I spend a lot of time online looking for fun things for us to do, interesting places to visit, homeschool blogs and how 'everyone else is doing it' - not so much to fit into the mainstream, but to get ideas on how to set things up. I love seeing something and incorporating it into our own little world. I've let any sort of 'me time' things fall by the wayside b/c I'm on the computer as soon as the kids go to bed. And now, I've started a new blog. Sheesh...I never want to see my sewing/knitting/husband again...but, again, this is my 'checklist' so to speak. Let's hope I can keep up with it - especially since our laptop is flying around in laptop-heaven...sniff, sniff.