things that make me happy right now: homeschooling.

A week of my favorite things . . . 

Hmmm.

Okay, let’s be honest, maybe a better title for this post is: “Things that make me happy right now: the idea of homeschooling.”

I am growing, more and more, to love the idea of homeschooling, and to feel certain that it’s the right thing for our family in this season.

So . . . I’m having a little trouble managing all the priorities in my life just now.  But I’m enjoying the effort—in some ways, being more busy, not less, is a great motivator for me.  And at least they’re fun priorities.

Homeschooling typically seems to be first to go.  I’m okay with that, because my kids are still four and two and really don’t need to be “doing school” yet.  Of course spending time with them every day is vital, but it doesn’t always look like school and I can’t say we’re sticking to any particular schedule right now (although that is, eventually, the goal!).

And, hey, life skills count too, right?  Amie impressed me yesterday morning by stepping to the edge of the sidewalk and flagging down an auto rickshaw for me.  Then, as we climbed in, Judah reminded me, “Make sure he uses the meter.”

So I guess what I mean by homeschooling in this season of life can also be called “fostering an atmosphere of learning,” and you can certainly do that whether your kids are in public school, homeschooled, or are still toddlers; whether you’re a schedule-person or not.

Learning how to grow in this makes me happy right now: researching, sharing ideas with friends, checking out books and blogs.

I have to confess: I’m not the most creative when it comes to small children. For some reason, teaching Priya to read comes so much more naturally for me (and honestly, it’s something I enjoy more).  So I’m thankful for some great resources and people out there who can help me.

But even doing reading and writing with Priya each day, right in the center of our home, contributes to that atmosphere I think.  I love that Priya is showing Judah and Amie, by her actions, “This is important.  It’s worth learning.”  Judah proudly shows David Priya’s writing up on the fridge, and sometimes Amie passes up watching a movie to come and work with us.

The same is true with my own language study.  I want our kids to grow up in a home where everyone’s a learner, no matter what age.

I plan to stick with Judah’s reading primer, even if it’s ever-so-slowly.  The book I’m using is The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading, and it’s a bit dull.  But I think the slow, systematic approach to phonics will lay a solid foundation.

Now, it’s Friday, and I’m realizing that Judah and I did not sit and work on reading one time this week (where did the week go??).  The goal is to make it part of our morning routine—just for ten or fifteen minutes.  He has started talking about wanting to learn to read his books, which makes me so excited.