Home schooling

 Home school has been on my mind lately, understandably since school starts soon.  We started home schooling about Christmas time last year.  I felt like I shouldn't send Glen back and I withdrew him.  I sort of plunged right in, a trial by fire, you might say.  I was in way over my head.  The best of intentions don't go far without a plan and I didn't really have one.  We did our best and ended up joining K-12, an online public school that he did at home most days.  It worked well for us at the time, but as the start of a new school year loomed closer and closer I felt like we shouldn't go back.  k-12 is a great program, but it was just a stepping stone, more like a life preserver. :)  We are trying something different this year.  Latter Day learning.  I'm excited for it for so many reasons, it incorporates gospel teaching into each lesson, the reading list is amazing, and the lessons are so classic.  I mean, history starts with the premortal council in heaven, music and art include such classics as Bach and the Baroque period.
 You see, to me learning is more then just math, reading, science and history.  Learning needs to be about life.  Why sit and read about bugs when you can catch them and study them?  Why read about plants when you can plant a bean seed in a clear cup and watch the root system spread and grow, just days after planting it?  Learning is about life skills.  I wanted to teach my children about God, about working together as a family, patriotism, sewing and cooking, how to clean well, and how to have a good attitude.  It's not about worksheets, and text books, those are important and can be good and even fun, but that's not where it ends.  I wanted my kids to be able to start out learning about volcanoes and let it evolve into a science experiment, sharing a good book together, and maybe it turns into something totally different, like cleaning the toilet with a pumice stone.  Did you make that connection?  Brownie points if you did.  :) I wanted to expose my kids to as many things as I could and then let them find their passion and run with it!  I wanted to encourage curiosity, problem solving skills, free time, and thinking outside the box.  Did you know my son got in trouble in school for asking too many questions?  I did too as a kid.

 Lest you think I disparage teachers, I have the highest respect and admiration of teachers.  They have a tough job and for the most part they really shine.  They work long hard hours, many of those hours unpaid, to give their class the best education they can.  They go to training and find video on youtube to try and make learning more fun.  They work HARD!  But they have 20-30 kids to teach.  It's hard to take the time to listen to each child, to encourage creativity and let kids learn in their own way and at their own pace when there are so many.  Here at home I only have 3 right now, four next year, and I have two "student" teachers because the big kids help the little kids.  I'm not going to say it's my job to teach them because all moms should home school, but I am going to say that it is *my* job to teach *my* kids.  I feel like Heavenly Father wants this for my family, and I am so eager to enjoy this adventure with my children.