Kindergarten Commences!

I never thought I'd be a homeschooling mom. When I was a teenager and then when we were first married, I had no intentions of homeschooling despite the "homeschool heritage" Heath and I both have. (I was homeschooled 2 years, and he was homeschooled about 6 years, and we both have many homeschooled siblings and relatives.) Maybe I'll share in a future post about our reasons for deciding to homeschool, but in summary, a couple years after Ethan was born, my thinking started to change. I (and Heath) gradually started to become open to the idea of homeschooling and eventually became excited about it. Now I can't imagine NOT doing it! So, being the planner that I am, for the past 3 years or so I've been reading, browsing, chatting, and making plans for homeschooling. And yesterday, the fun began. . . Ethan started kindergarten! (We're starting early this fall so that we can take off a few weeks for our trip to China and Tabitha's adjustment.) We've been doing preschool stuff at home the past couple years, but this is the first year where we actually have official goals and plans on what needs to be accomplished.

I was a bit nervous that Ethan would complain about having to do any type of work that requires sitting at the table (he'd much rather be outside all day). But he has been so excited! Today he wanted to start school as soon as breakfast was done, but I made him get dressed, brush his teeth, and clean his room first. Now, granted, it's only the 2nd day and I'm sure it won't always be so easy. But it's off to a great start, and I'm very excited! Jesse's doing well too--he does his "school work" or just entertains himself while I work with Ethan. I know there will be many challenges to come, but I'm very thankful for the good start, and I'm looking forward to many great years of learning together as a family!

There's a quote I read somewhere, that I plan to stencil on the homeschool room wall after we build our house. "Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a spark." The spark is just barely lit, and I pray it'll grow into a raging fire of learning over the next several years!