Struggles of this Homeschooling Mom

Well here I am sitting this morning pondering this whole "blog thing".  I am absolutely positive that I am the last person on earth starting a blog :-)!  So...should I blog once a week?  Every day?  I don't mean to brag...BUT I have SOOOO much wisdom and knowledge to share with the blogging world to post every day! (that statement MIGHT be some of that sarcasm I was talking about)

I know not everyone who will be reading this blog will be a home schooling parent, or might not even be that supportive of home schooling.  But home schooling is my life, so I figured that would be the best place to start.  With home schooling 3 girls, there is not much room for anything else in my life....although my life is not really mine...it is God's!

I have had a few people recently ask me why I chose to home school?  Now I also know not everyone reading this blog will be a Christian, or believe in God, or any religion for that matter.  But I am a Christian, I live for God, and I let HIM lead my life.  So some of my reasons for home schooling might not be understood by all....or might even be thought as stupid for some....but that is okay :-)

As I mentioned my husband and I both grew up in Northeast Ohio.  We lived there our whole lives and were comfortable sending our kids to school there.  Right when my oldest, Hunter, was starting pre-school, we moved to upstate New York.  Now being in a new place, we were not really comfortable with putting our kids in the public schools there.  Since we were thinking we would be living there for quite some time we figured we should find out more about the schooling options.  We would have LOVED to put them in a private school, but finances were a bit tight at that time.  So we decided to look into home schooling. 

At first I was NOT interested in home schooling at all!  We had moved in the middle of the pre-school school year, so we had Hunter enrolled in a pre-K class right when we moved.  Now the school she was in in Ohio taught the alphabet out of order...and the school in NY taught it in order...so there were a few letters Hunter didn't know.  Also Hunter had broken her arm and got the cast off right before we moved...so she was a little behind in handwriting.  Although she was 5....so how behind can you be in handwriting???? 

The pre-K teacher assessed her on her first day....and told me "your daughter is way behind...you are going to need to work with her at home!"  So I got my supplies and started working with her at home.  She was doing GREAT!  We worked and worked and she was actually ahead of her class.  I was driving home from picking Hunter up from school, when God spoke to my heart!  I can remember the time and place perfectly!  We were at a stoplight and God clearly spoke to me....See how well she did while you were teaching her?  I want you to pull her out of pre-school and home school!  Of course I didn't talk to Allan about this quite yet, because I didn't want to home school!  I had my plan of how things were going to go and home school was NOWHERE in MY plan :-)  So....I ignored that conversation :-)  I am not sure about everyone reading this...but I seem to like to learn my lessons the HARD way :-)

With only living 5 hours from our families in Ohio the first few months we lived in NY we made a few trips back home...so Hunter missed quite a bit of school.  A few weeks after my ignoring God's calling....he spoke to me again driving back from Ohio....well not really spoke TO me as THROUGH me :-)  Let me explain....we were driving back and Allan was in the car with me.  We were talking about this that and another thing when all of a sudden I heard (out of MY mouth)...I really feel I should home school the girls!  Now I am thinking in my head....did I just say that???  Where did that come from???  So that comment opened a whole door of conversations between Allan and me!  I ended up telling Allan about my conversation with God a few weeks earlier and how I was working with Hunter at home and how well she was doing, and how she was missing so much school...blah blah blah....I did NOT want to be having this conversation :-) 

So we decided to give it a try...she was just finishing pre-K and start Kindergarten, so I couldn't mess her up too bad if we decided it wasn't going to work...right???  LoL!!!  I must say it was totally AWESOME!  Although I still struggle to this day with my decision to home school...are they behind, are they social enough (if you know my girls that is a BIG joke)....if you home school...I am sure you know all these nagging questions :-)

Am I rambling yet????  If so I am sorry :-)  I just wanted to add 1 more thing :-)  At first Allan was NOT very supportive of the whole home schooling thing...as I must admit I was not either :-)  But I really felt strongly that God had called me to this.  The first 2 years Allan and I had quite a number of arguments about it.  Not that he ever told me I couldn't do it...He realized that God was speaking to me.  During that time I prayed that if this is what HE wanted me to do then HE was going to have to change Allan's heart toward this.  Allan did let me home school even though he didn't agree with me, but it still caused stress having my husband not support me.  God did answer my prayer....although secretly I was hoping he wouldn't so I could get out of home schooling :-)  I remember that "conversation" with Allan so vividly too :-)  I quoted that conversation, because it was more of an argument :-) 

We had just moved to South Dakota and we had this "conversation" after the girls went to bed.  We were actually talking in bed and I was so stressed with moving so far away and feeling so alone and he was not helping by not supporting me with the home schooling....not that I wanted him to do any teaching, but just have his support!  I remember sitting on our bed sobbing and talking (loudly) about all my feelings and such.  I remember Allan making me defend myself and reasons for home schooling.  Which at the time I was angry about, but to this day I am glad, because whenever I get upset and doubt myself Allan always brings up those reasons :-)  I gave him bible verses, I gave him examples, I showed him how well the girls were doing, and how loving and helpful they were.  He was so shocked that I threw all this at him!  I am not sure if he was shocked at all my answers or because of how I was speaking to him :-)  But that night he sat down next to me and apologized for being that way and told me how great of a job I was doing and how he was going to support me from here on out!  Then the next morning he apologized again and told me that he felt God had really changed his heart about the whole home schooling thing :-)  ....I am crying just typing it...it brings back such wonderful memories and again just makes me feel no doubts about my decision to home school :-)

So...I just read my preview and it is a bit lengthy :-)  Sorry...but I did start out saying I had SOOOO much knowledge and wisdom to share with you all!  HA HA HA HA!!!