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Category Archives: Homeschool

How We Homeschool {And my 2 cents for what they’re worth}

I’m preparing for my 4th year homeschooling–and this year ahead will be my fullest yet with 2 in K, one in 3rd, one in 4th and another running around in a diaper:) Next year, we’re opting out of preschool for the youngest and letting him roll with our crazy homeschooling. (For us having them in […]

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Meg - April 30, 2014 - 7:56 am

After 7 years of homeschooling, I’m still learning, too. Just started using the “workbox” system and we all love it! I am certified to teach Reading/Language Arts also. Through homeschooling, I have discovered that I knew very little about these subjects. I love learning right alongside my children this go around. This post was filled with such great, great advice. It’s always fun to see what curriculum works with other families.

shana - April 30, 2014 - 11:52 am

We are in the midst of our 7th year of homeschooling. We have 4 girls, ages 7, 8, 10, and 12 and in grades 1, 3, 5, and 6. What a blessing and treasure it is to homeschool! What do I love most? The ability to instruct our girls in the way of the Lord. We have had the most amazing conversations about spiritual things.

We also use Apologia and The Story of the World, and find them both to be wonderful.

Sometimes the days get long. Sometimes we have to take a mental health day. I don’t worry too much about the little things anymore. The girls are all getting to be self-taught in their work, which is a life skill that we’re trying to encourage.

Hang in there on the hard days, and enjoy the ride!

Kendra Balassone - April 30, 2014 - 12:02 pm

Hi Andrea,

I love your blog and your heart for Christ and your family. I enjoyed this post especially and have researched the links you provided. I have a 2 year old and a 7 month old, and am wanting to homeschool as they get of age. I have looked into the Sonlight curriculum and had intended to go that route until reading your post. I like the idea of teaching them together. Can you weigh in on your thoughts of a program like Sonlight compared to what you currently use? And, can you (if you have time) provide a sample “day/weekly” schedule of what your days look like, regarding homeschooling, play time, etc? I like organization and routine. Any advice is helpful. Thanks so much for your time (and for your time in writing blog posts like these). Thanks again!

Suzy - April 30, 2014 - 4:10 pm

What a great post! Thank you! I love to hear what is working for other homeschool moms ๐Ÿ™‚ i was wondering if you have ever heard of Brave Writer? I am looking into it as a writing program. IEW is a little to intense for me! ๐Ÿ˜› I love her blog posts and her ideas of how to teach. I have an email that I can send if you are interested in looking at a condensed breakdown of how it works. Thank you again!! Y’all are awesome!

Dawn - April 30, 2014 - 7:53 pm

LOVE!~!!! We do many of the same exact things!!! ๐Ÿ™‚ It works for our crew. We have ADD, dyslexia, auditory processing, sensory needs, and a heap of other things, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world!!! We get to be together!

And our ages span from 4-14! Still works :).

Drea - July 5, 2014 - 2:21 pm

Wanted to thank you for this post. Was super helpful. I have a 4th, 2nd, pre-k and 2 yr old for this coming school year.. all dudes ๐Ÿ˜‰ – and as this year ended I just felt a bit burned out. We have only ever home schooled… moved 9 times in 10 years… and had babies in every place we lived it seemed HAH! My husband a former pastor had to take on a new job as a cop (long complicated story hehe) – which brought us to atlanta… and as of right now we are unsure where the Lord will take us next. I know or at least feel he is not meant to serve as a cop forever ๐Ÿ˜‰ – for now it works but he is called to Pastor and so we are hoping to be called to a church or mission some time in the next year or so.

With the thought of moving again I dont want to do public school but as I began to prep for this fall I just felt a bit bogged down and tired… wondering if my home schooling was worth it…

Your post encouraged me. So thank you!

Btw my names Andrea too ๐Ÿ˜‰ – and I am a photographer as well. Started my business in 07′ after my 2nd was born. Its been a huge blessing to our family – provided for us during a 10 month jobless season for my husband. Was thankful for the ability to do something creative yet make ends meet and provide for my family.

Rock on fellow Andrea ๐Ÿ˜‰ – love your blog.

Deanna - July 13, 2014 - 3:19 pm

I just purchased all of Sam Man’s books for 1st grade and I’m SUPER excited ๐Ÿ™‚ I’m trying out some of your suggestions and sticking with a couple that have worked for him. Thank you SO MUCH for your honest and sincere advise! On behalf of all us mamas learning how all this works, THANK YOU!

here lately…

I’m here…but school has started–and momma has been a busy bee with the new year in gear. I need to share what we are doing this year–along with our homeschool room and changes for the year. Isaac and Frank started preschool last week… They are going to the SAME preschool Parker and Laney went to–and […]

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Amy - August 28, 2012 - 7:20 am

I am glad you explained the picture of the cake. I was quite clueless. However, as I was reading, my daughter sitting across the room says, “Good Lego man.” Really??? Am I that out of touch?? LOL

blessings,
amy in ga

daniellem02 - August 28, 2012 - 9:47 am

praying for andra and travis! thank you for the update!

Elizabeth - August 29, 2012 - 3:16 pm

I just wanted to say- thank you for sharing about your helper- I think I read about the idea on your blog last year…so we did the same to help with our homeschooling (we have 5 kiddos, 3 recently adopted) and it makes it SO much more fun and SO much less stressful for mom- and I’m not out grocery shopping with 5 kids or at 10pm at night! Thank you for honestly sharing how your HS works…sometimes others have snide comments about it…but I have my sanity and that’s all that matters!

Why I have loved homeschooling…

As we’ve gone to and fro about what is best for our children for next year (we of course re-evaluate every year what will be best for each child for the year ahead), I’ve been reflecting on WHY we homeschool and really WHY it’s a hard option to top. We’ve had our experiences with all […]

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Christy - April 1, 2012 - 7:20 am

Girl, you need to write that book! Your description was beautiful and really connected with my heart in so many ways! Would love to hear more about your testing you had done to determine strengths/learning styles. Homeschooling is a beautiful thing and you reminded me of that once again and of how blessed we are to have the setup we do. Think I need to print this off for the hard days! (or at least until it’s in hardback) ๐Ÿ™‚

Jessica - April 1, 2012 - 9:12 am

Love this! I was also in the “I’d never homeschool” group–and this is our 4th year now. I’ve applied for school the past two years and each year, we’ve decided to continue homeschooling. We’ve experienced huge blessing with it especially with our three daughters who came home from Ethiopia at ages 3, 5, and 9. So much good bonding time that I would have missed and their siblings would have missed if they were gone most of the day. It has it’s challenges, but I’m so glad that we said yes to bringing our children up in this way.

Jessica

Beth - April 2, 2012 - 11:27 am

My oldest starts school next year and I don’t know what we are going to do. How long can you live in the land of indecision? Thank you for this. Beautifully put.

Candy - April 2, 2012 - 11:50 am

I homeschooled our 4 daughters for 12 years and outside of my marriage it is one of my greatest accomplishments in life. We always gave the girls the option to go back to school, but they always chose homeschooling each year. All 4 are now grown women and all married – 3 with children. The oldest is homeschooling her 3 children and loving it. She’s a born teacher. Daughter #2’s son is just 2 years old, but she’s already looking forward to homeschooling him. Daughter #3 has her son in a christian umbrella school/homeschool situation where she teaches him at home 3 days a week and he goes to school 2 days a week.

All 4 girls are so well-rounded and have always gotten along well with any age group. Their work ethics are wonderful and when they have worked, they are in high demand.

I can’t say enough about the values of homeschooling your children if that is what God leads you to do. One thing I always said growing up was that I was NEVER going to be a teacher. HA!

When Isaac grows up, he wants to be an…

We went to the Tellus Science Museum with two homeschool/adoption/Created for Care mommas! Laura (below far right) is Luke’s mom who was Isaac’s crib mate and NOW they live here and do life with us! LOVE. And Tracy (far left) she came to the Created for Care retreat…I spotted her one day wearing a t-shirt […]

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Dawn Wright - March 2, 2012 - 7:59 pm

SOO FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE IT!!! ๐Ÿ™‚

Candy - March 3, 2012 - 11:23 am

Ahh! I SO remember those days when I was home schooling my now 4 grown daughters! I miss all of the joy that comes with that!

Rebecca - March 3, 2012 - 12:08 pm

We were there this week too for a space homeschool “field trip”. LOVED having the museum almost to ourselves.

Such a neat museum!

my revelations in our homeschool – {& Rico Suave, Brad and David}

The kids and I got to Skype daddy-o today in Zambia. He got to see our precious Beatrice (our sponsored child) today! You can follow along with the adventures of Rico Suave, Brad and David on Kristin’s blog at http://kristincoleen.wordpress.com/ It was SO good to see him–and hear his voice. The children LOVED hearing from […]

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megan - October 4, 2011 - 9:00 am

My little guy is only 9 months old…but the more I hear about homeschooling, the more interested I am in it!

Sandi - October 4, 2011 - 10:24 am

I homeschooled for a year. It changed the way we do everything from family games to homework. I learned little things like my oldest is a visual learner & aces vocab/spelling tests when I make paper flashcards with pictures from google images. Even weekend fun trips incorporate learning in ways that I probably wouldn’t have thought of unless I had homeschooled. I am so thankful for that time & the treasure trove of silly, happy memories. Cherish those moments, you are getting the opportunity of a lifetime!

Rory - October 4, 2011 - 5:05 pm

Totally agree about the homeschool revelations! While I am so thankful for that one year of preschool my oldest had with her amazing school and teachers, I would not trade the past (almost) 3 years of homeschooling to have back more “me” time. Oh, some days I look at the piles of laundry and what to crawl in them so no one can find me, but even in those hard moments I am blessed with an opportunity to show my children Christ, to be around them (cause Lord only knows it goes by too fast), and to genuinely get to know my children and enjoy their company. We have seen the best and worst of each other, that’s for sure!:) You’re doing a great job! Keep up the good work in the trenches and know there are other mamas in the foxhole with you.:) Your kids are gonna turn out awesome!:)

Rory - October 4, 2011 - 5:07 pm

*want*
sheesh. nice advertisement for homeschooling when this mama can’t even spell!:)

Emily Schulz - October 4, 2011 - 7:58 pm

oh, I need to hear this today and let it sink deep. It’s been a LONG one at home with my 4!!

Desiree - October 5, 2011 - 12:16 am

What an awesome post Andrea! I couldn’t agree more. I thank God everyday for the opportunity to homeschool my children. The moments we can be present for are so worth being behind on housework! Thanks for your heart!

Lisa - October 5, 2011 - 11:00 am

So lovely to hear these encouraging, real words, Andrea.

D - October 6, 2011 - 1:33 pm

I love your blog. I teach a preschool class (3 through 5) and I have definetly incorporated some “homeschooling” tactics in the way I teach.

JJ - October 6, 2011 - 10:41 pm

I love to hear this Andrea. I’ve been homeschooling for 3 years now and even though it gets really hairy some days, I would never ever change it or go back to the way it used to be. I keep reminding myself the importance of “being in the world, not OF the world.” My kids too have the hugest hearts for the orphans and they are not distracted by all the things that kids typically are when they go to a school every day. I love being able to raise little God warriors, after all that is the most important thing in life. It’s not going to matter how much money they make (because they went to 10 years of college and were the smartest in their class), or if they play pro sports, or if they are the most popular at their high school if they have a weak faith in the Most High. I can totally relate to what you are going through right now too. My husband is in the military and gone A LOT. We have 5 kids ages 1-9. I’m hoping we can connect in March at the retreat. Is there still room?