EDUCATING OUR LITTLES- PT4

This post is part of a series. You can go to the beginning by clicking here.

Fast forward five months. It is time to begin Kindergarten registration. Over the first few months of his 4-year old preschool year I noticed that Grayson didn't seem as "Kindergarten ready" as some of the other kids in his class. His teachers assured me he was doing great, but I could see differences. Colors had been really hard for him to learn and not for lack of trying. We started working on colors at age 2. The abstractness of it threw him for a loop. He could match two red things and understood that they were the same color, but I did not make sense to him that the color was called "red". At this point he had finally memorized the colors but most of his peers had moved on through letters and numbers.

I knew right away that it wasn't because he wasn't bright. There were other things that were coming easily for him. He was amazing at puzzles and building. He was very interested in science and how things work. He couldn't have cared less about letters and numbers. He was a young four, but not a summer baby being born in April. We had heard a lot of talk about parents holding back boys born in the summer months to get an extra year of maturity under their belt before Kindergarten. His teachers encouraged us to move forward with Kindergarten and that he would catch up.

We had continued to pray about Kindergarten and where Grayson would go. I had lots of friends who were homeschooling and it interested and scared me all at the same time. Justin was set on the private christian school. Our base public elementary was one of the worst in the county and not an option for that reason and all of the reasons I described in previous posts. Add to those reasons that our state implemented Core Curriculum in 2013 and I am NOT a fan. The decision was starting to weigh very heavy on my heart and deadlines were quickly approaching. My biggest fear was that he was not ready for the quick academic pace of the private school Kindergarten. I knew in my heart that would be a very difficult year for us. We began exploring the option of another year of preschool. The wonderful private christian school had decided to start a pre-k program for the 2013-2014 school year and we started thinking that an extra year might be beneficial.

One night while we were sitting together looking over the applications. Justin declares, out of no where, "Why don't we just homeschool?" Imagine screeching tire sounds in my brain as he completely caught me off guard. The thought had lingered in the back of my mind and the desire had started to grow in my heart, but I was not certain yet that it was where God was calling us especially since I never imagined my husband was leaning that way. We began to discuss the pros and cons. Homeschooling would meet our needs for ensuring our children were presented with a biblical worldview throughout education, it would enable us to explore Grayson's specific learning style and accommodate it, and it would also save us a great deal of money. The cons were pretty much non-existent. We knew it would be a little tricky for me to continue to work, but felt like the flexibility that homeschooling allows would make working an option.

The clock was ticking away on application deadlines. Justin and I both agreed that we did not have ample time to pray over and explore strictly homeschooling the upcoming year. We were not certain that was where God was calling us, but we were certain it was something we needed to pray over. We made a quick decision to enroll Grayson in the pre-K at the private school. We felt like that would give us some time to pray, guarantee him a place for the following year should we decide homeschooling wasn't where God would have us, and ensure the next year was not a complete train wreck with him being in an academic setting he wasn't ready for.

I immediately began contacting friends who were homeschooling. We discussed curriculum, schedules, learning differences, co-ops, pros, cons, and everything in between. I had dear friends who allowed me into their home to see their classrooms and thumb through materials. I had dear friends who spent endless amounts of time encouraging me, answering questions, and praying for us. I read a million blogs written by homeschooling families. There was one common thread. All of these moms were completely in love with homeschooling and by all observations it was going well for them. They admittedly had their bad days, but everyone does. The love was contagious and my heart was softening with every passing day. I continued to pray and I knew very quickly that God was providing me with these opportunities and friends so that I could fall in love with the plan He had for our family.

We decided in the summer months of 2013 to purchase some Kindergarten reading and math curriculum as well as some handwriting curriculum (since handwriting was a weakness for Grayson). We felt pretty certain that God was directing us down the path of homeschooling. Grayson was already enrolled in Pre-K and our hearts felt right with that decision. We decided that we would begin by doing the Kindergarten work in the afternoons when Grayson came home from his half-day program. We felt this would give us a chance to test out homeschooling and working for me since me staying home full-time wasn't an option. I didn't have any friends who were working as much as I needed to while homeschooling and we felt we needed a year to adjust to that without Grayson losing a year academically. In hindsight we were probably most uncertain because it was such a new idea to us. Not to God, but certainly to us. If you would have asked me a year prior about homeschooling I would have most certainly said, "That is not for us."

So in September of 2013 Grayson began Pre-K at a wonderful private christian school and we began Kindergarten at home. The homeschool curriculum is working well for Grayson. I know because of the ability to cater his education to his learning syle he is gaining way more than he would have in any classroom setting. Letters and numbers haven't been easy, but he is getting them. He is also reading and doing math at the appropriate lever for mid-way through Kindergarten. Grayson has had a wonderful experience in Pre-K and we know, without a doubt, that is a fabulous school. We also know, without a doubt, that for now God's desire for our family is homeschooling. We have certainly had some bumps along the way, but we are going on 4 months in and couldn't be happier with how it is going. During those tough moments I go back to prayer. Over and over God has confirmed to my heart that this is where he wants us. Doing anything else would be disobedient to His call for our family.

So for now we will choose obedience and homeschool. I know it is the right fit for Grayson and for the desires that God has placed on our heart for educating our children. We will take it one year at a time. If at any point God calls us to shift gears, then we will. For today, the plan is to only homeschool next year. We will have a 1st grader, and a preschooler. There are still moments when I absolutely can't believe we are doing this!