Preparedness? Huh?

August 27, 2013

12:31pm

So, what does one have to do to prepare for homeschooling?

That question could be answered in many ways. Stephan and I made up our minds back in April that we were going to do this. To mentally prepare for this, as well as gather the material, plan lessons, transform the back of our living, and the like took about five months. Sure, we could've knocked all of that out in about a month's time, but the spiritual and mental preparation took up much of that time. 

Stephan is the only one who brings in monetary income in the house. At one point in our marriage, we had decided together that I would take 2012 off from work and school so I could focus on my pregnancy, being mom, and settling into our new duty station. That was my job. But, like so many other unforeseen circumstances, things changed. 2013 entered, and I was still a stay-at-home-mom. Once we decided to homeschool, we knew that Stephan would permanently be the sole provider in the house. It was a difficult pill to swallow for the both of us, because at any given moment, Stephan could become stressed out, demand I go back, lose his job, or go through something else devastating. We realized this. We prayed on it. Every night before I go to bed, I pray for him. This life assignment he was tasked with can't be done by the faint of heart. I also prayed for our marriage. By me putting 90% of my entire focus in our children, my marriage is bound to face its trials. And the fact that we placed the Lord at the helm is cause enough for the enemy to try to attack us at every angle. I say "Bring it on", because NOTHING is too big for my God to handle!

Over the past several months, we've had conversations with Jay helping him to understand that he will not be going back to public school. It was tough for him once he realized he wouldn't be returning. But, Jay is such a remarkable child. He handles change better than most adults I know. He's moved more times by the age of six than most adults move in their lifetime; he's changed daycare and schools; had to say "goodbye" to his family and friends in Maryland to come down here in Texas; and now he's facing this. Sometimes I wonder if it would be better if we were like some other families where there are two working parents, the children attend public school, and they are raised in the same house from birth. But, I see why the Lord has blessed Turk (that's my nickname for him) with certain characteristics. He can really handle these kinds of changes. We still see that some changes are hard, so we work with him. He helped me plan out his school schedule, picked out certain materials that he would like to see in his "classroom", and even helped me decorate his classroom. The kid is pretty awesome. He overly-active sister is, too. It's a good thing that they are spaced out five and a half years, because they required attention that differs. Madison has the basic necessities for an almost-year-old. Jay is more extensive, considering this critical learning time in his life. 

The curriculum itself wasn't the difficult to choose. California sister had researched it, and I go with what she decides (as it pertains to her and her family) about 90% of the time. *LoL* What can I say? The woman is very wise and researches EVERYTHING. But, for the sake of having my own knowledge on the matter, I checked out different course material. We decided on Horizons from Alpha and Omega Publishing Company. Good stuff. Very good stuff. Straightforward, self-explanatory, and thorough. It was easy planning our daily lessons, because they basically do all the planning for you! It's just a matter of designing a syllabus for yourself, or going online to find a template, and filling it in. It was a bit time-consuming for me, because I planned out each day. Seven subjects. Roughly 160 lessons. You do the math. So far, September through December are planned out in their entirety. I'll have the second semester planned out by Thanksgiving break. 

Bet you're wondering what Jay will be learning, huh? I'll show you his schedule for kicks.

700		Wake-up
		Brush teeth
		Make bed
		Get dressed
730		Eat breakfast
745		Morning prayer/preparations
800		Warm-Up (Journal Entry)
815		Phonics & Reading
910		Break
915		Spelling and Vocabulary
1010		Break
1015		Math
1130		Lunch
1200		Outside Activity
1230		Come in/wash hands
1235		Penmanship
1255		Health (M/W)/Arts & Crafts (Th)/Bible Story Hour (F)
1345		Snack
1440		Afternoon prayer/Clean-up
1455		Chores

Throw in Stephan's 15-minute science and computer lessons when he gets home from work, and there you go. At this point, we are all set for next week! We are all very excited. Do me a favor, will ya? Pray for us! We'll need all the prayers we can get!