Recently I shared about a new curriculum I purchased (in fact, the giveaway for a copy of the curriculum and a Melissa & Doug band set is still going on here!). We incorporated this curriculum into our first week of preschool.

I’ve always planned to homeschool. For as long as I can remember, I loved homeschooling. I spent seven years of my elementary and high school years schooled at home. The rest I was enrolled at various schools. When I was a senior, my mom had a kindergartener…and three other children in between! She was a rockstar!

I Remember

I remember awesome first days of school with treats and projects and special school rooms. I remember field trips to the park with schoolwork while other kids were sitting in a classroom. I remember finishing my work and picking up my novel while other kids were still in a classroom. I remember Andy Griffith and I Love Lucy during lunch. I remember helping to teach my younger siblings to read. I remember scurrying to get monthly reports turned in on time. I remember graduating with a small class of 40-ish students.

I remember a lot of great stuff from my formal education days, too, and am grateful for those years, as well. I remember memorizing Psalm 91 in its entirety during my kindergarten year. I remember first days of middle school nerves and science experiments and passing notes and crushing on boys. I remember learning that not every student knew what “to parse” meant. I remember first holding my copy of the massive Webster’s 1828 and falling in love (any other nerds out there? C’mon!!).

And then, fresh out of high school, I got a job working for a homeschool group. I saw students all day long. I saw mamas with young and old children coming together to teach each other’s kiddos. I saw the good, the bad, and the ugly from the view of the desk. And I got to talk with mamas in the bathroom who were terrified of teaching their kindergartener. And I got to help mamas through their final years of schooling with their last student – finishing a job well done. Many of those first seniors I graduated are now homeschooling their children.

Starting Early

Not everything about any form of education will be perfect. But my hubby and I believe that God has called us to educate our children at home. And that means a lot of hard, hard work. I look at the 13+ years of schooling ahead of me and realize that they are short compared to the careers of some homeschooling mamas I know! And still it is daunting. Intimidating:

• Do I have enough? Is my education enough to teach my kids?
• Do I want to give all those years to teaching them? Making lesson plans, searching out curriculum, finding co-ops, teaching classes, grading papers, teaching long division, chemistry and Spanish?
• Do I want to have them around me 24/7 (with nary a break!)? To have to look for ways to help them develop purposeful relationships with other kids – both believers and non-believers alike?

Yes, I do!

And so I started preschool with the babies. I couldn’t wait. Now before you roll your eyes (well, ok, go ahead – I even rolled mine), I’ll clue you in to how basic and low-key it was. The letter was “E.”

• They colored on a hard-boiled egg. (And then ate it, of course.)
• They drew on a picture of a letter “e.”
• They put stickers on rows of eggs and we talked about colors.
• We read a book about an elephant.
• We made the elephant sound.
• We talked about what starts with “e” – like “Emma.”
• We made the letter “e” in ASL.

And if you have preschoolers, you know the above took all of five minutes and they were done! And that’s ok! At this age, a lot more is “caught” than “taught.” Little by little we will increase, as their comprehension and attention spans do, too.

In their pjs, no less! Emma already looks unhappy about pj pictures.

Preschool – It’s in the Bag!

Moms of preschoolers, we got this! We’ve even got this with all our toddlers the same age! I believe God gives grace for what He calls us to. And I’ll bet the veterans of homeschooling would encourage us to take it one day at a time – to plan, but not to stress. This long, long, long road ahead of us won’t be easy or perfect. But it will be worth it.

What are your thoughts on homeschooling?

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Preschool Curriculum and Melissa & Doug Little Daycare in the Suburbs Easter Weekend