Crazy Second Year of Homeschooling

OK, so this is our second year of homeschooling. You'd think we'd have it down pat by now, and that we'd have some time of routine. You'd be wrong, but that's the way we like it. Although I value structure, and I believe that children need structure in their lives, we do not follow a strict schedule with our kids. Sure, we are using various curriculums to make sure that they get their prescribed reading/writing/arithmetic skills. However, we have had so many opportunities for our children to learn outside of the home and out of their seats, that we have not had a chance to truly delve into history, science, or music in the home-setting. We hate to give up these opportunities just for the sake of keeping a schedule.

So far we have visited the following places & done following things:

• LBL-Hummingbird festival


• LBL-Elk and Bison Prairie


• Ethne does Ballet at MSU


• Attended several MSU football games


• Elijah is a Wolf Cubscout with Pack 73


• Evelyn does Story Circle with the Library once a week


• Civil War Days at Columbus Belmont


• Cane Ridge Meeting House


• Lincoln's Homestead


• Lincoln's Boyhood Home


• My Old KY Home


• Natural Bridge State Park


• Cumberland Falls State Park


• General Burnside State Park


• Mammoth Cave National Park


• Markplace 29 AD


• Watched "The Lion King," "Dolphin Tale," "Winnie the Pooh," and "The Smurfs" at the movie theater


• Ant farm project


• Butterfly project


• Charles & Elijah did a campout with the Cubscouts


• Various singings on Friday nights at area congregations

...and this is only the stuff I can remember off the top of my head. Needless to say, we've been busy and we've only been hitting the school stuff hard since the end of August. The hands-on experience my kids have had the past few weeks beats anything that they would have gotten out of a book. I love history and science, so I have hated how they are both presented in schools--as a boring-in your seat-lecture type thing. I am so happy that I can approach these subjects as topics into which you can emerge yourself. We discussed Barton Stone and the Reformation in Kentucky, and then we visited where it took place. How awesome! I feel so blessed to be able to do this with my kids. Please, continue to keep us in your prayers as we continue to embark on this educational journey with our precious children.