Our Homeschooling Journey

We started home educating our first child when she was 3 years old. That was nine years ago. We started out by joining a local homeschooling support group. This is where I gained valuable information about laws for our state, how to homeschool, and made new friends. We participated in park days, storytelling, show-and tell, and many field trips. I went to my first curriculum fair when Sierra was about 5. Boy, was this overwhelming to me. I didn't know there was so many choices in curriculum. We have always been a family that reads. So, I just started adding books to our library. I have to say I went overboard!! My husband would say that I went crazy buying books. When we started homeschooling, the closest library was about 25 miles away. So having books on hand was a blessing.

I also started trying different curriculum's to teach the basics. I bought a high price phonics program which we never used. I sold it to another homeschooling mom for $10.00. I also bought other books that were either to hard for me to use or to time consuming for Sierra. I bought a popular Math program and made Sierra do every page even when she knew the concept. Today, she dislikes Math because of this program.

When Sierra was 6, I attend a homeschooling conference and learned about learning styles. In one hour the Lord showed me how He made Sierra. Sierra learns by hearing. This is completely opposite from me. I learn and was teaching by seeing. I am a visual learner. I changed curriculum once again. Sierra started loving to learn. We did unit studies, read lots of books, and did a lot of hands-on projects together. We talked and learned together.

When Sierra was 7, we moved to tourist city. The library was 5 min. from our house and we also had a college library close by. Therefore, I started getting rid of a lot of my books because I needed the space. Now, we live in a small town far away from our beloved city. Getting books is a challenge once again. However, this time when I am purchasing books, I am being very selective. Once again, I am changing curriculum. This time I am trying to develop a way to teach Sierra and Andrew some of the same subjects but on different levels. At the same time keeping in mind that I want Hannah-Faith to use the same curriculum when she is able. I found the Charlotte Mason approach to home educating. I am now researching it and learning. I will post more on this later.