Reflecting on the my decision...

Friends we made our first year and still going strong!

     Well this week flew by!! I didn't even have a chance to post on here until now, ya know when the house is quiet and all the noises are just me typing!! You know that feeling?! I actually had a day where I could reflect on my life and how it has changed since I became an accidental homeschooler. If you would have told me I would be doing this 10 years ago, I would have kindly asked you to take your crazy thoughts and ideas some place else! Not that I didn't love my boys BUT (and yes a big BUT) I didn't think I could teach my boys better than a certified teacher could. Fast forward, five years ago when I saw the light go out in Alex's eyes every time  I said anything about school. That's when it hit me, I missed my boys being around me, I missed those moments of teaching them things; watching those once in a lifetime moments that only a parent would cherish. It is so amazing to see them succeed and actually want to learn (well most of the time), finding new ways to teach something that I could never understand in school.
      I was one of those kids who wanted to please the teacher and my parents, yes a middle child, LOL. I always tried very hard in school, I was like Alex it took me forever to do any of my homework in English. I had never been taught phonics or my ADD brain never let those lessons soak in enough for me to be good at reading and spelling.  All of this changed my freshman year of high school, my life changed in so many ways, parents divorced, grandmother passed away, things that had happened to my older sister and me as children coming out, and feeling like I was all alone in the world even with people right by me. I didn't want that for my boys, not that their lives are ANYTHING like mine or my husband's for that matter. So this thing called homeschooling, is scary at first (especially if you didn't do so well in school!) but with enough determination, being able to ask perfect strangers questions, willing to go out on a limb for your kids YOU CAN DO IT!!  The added bonus is knowing more about my boys then most people do... yes I am not privy to everything my boys think or do but I am there if they need me.
    When writing this post, I was thinking of all the newbies out there that decided that they had enough of the system and it is not right for their kids over Xmas break. The forums are chalked full of people coming on and asking questions, I always direct them to a free guide called Welcome to Homeschooling.  So if you are just beginning your journey just remember a couple of things.....
1) Take it slow
2) Do your research
3) Enjoy your kids and teaching them
4) YOU ARE NOT IN SCHOOL so don't try and teach like you are
5) Reach out to other homeschoolers  (locally and online)
6) Just remember this when you are stressed out! IT DOESN'T LAST FOREVER SO ENJOY IT NOW!(this one is hanging on my computer, LOL)

Being Thankful

Another thing to be thankful for, being able to take off and go to Charlotte for the day to meet up with friends!

Well I have noticed that there is a lot of people saying what they were thankful for on Facebook, I figured it was for Thanksgiving. Even though I didn't do my "thankful for" on there, I am thankful for a lot in my life. Most important thing I am thankful for is a husband who supports my decision to homeschool our boys. Yes, I did talk to him about it but he knew that once I had my mind set on taking on this adventure with our boys that no one could stop me! It has been a curvy road of homeschooling our ADHD son, he has challenged me since the beginning to find out how best to go about teaching him in a way that he could get the most out of each lesson. But when you see that "I get it" look in his eyes then you have a feeling that this is why we are doing this!! Our youngest was at that age where he LOVED being around his family (right after Kindergarten) and since he didn't have to go through the challenges that "are" related to school, he has blossomed into a child who LOVES and I mean LOVES to learn about everything!!

Other things that I am thankful for is that both hubby and I have a job, a roof over our heads and food in the frig. When we were trying to think about what we were doing for each other for xmas, neither one of us really wanted anything! Another surprise is that the boys' lists are not long and filled with things that they will never use or play with.

I am thankful for my friends and family both far and near, they have been here for me when I was down and needed them! And for my friend/boss, who is always challenging me to learn, try and create something new for all of the homeschoolers out there!!

So a big "THANK YOU" to everyone in my life!!