Ever since I found out I was pregnant with my son in 2009, I thought how fun it would be to homeschool, but I didn't know much about it. I knew that my county had a big Homeschooling presence, so I joined their Yahoo Group page, and started following some of the posts there.
I know, you are probably thinking... why was I worried about school at all, when he hadn't even been born yet? I don't really know either. I just know that I continued to hear horrible things about the public schools in our area through my sister and several others, that I wanted to do more research and get to know the home schoolers in our area. At this point, I was still active duty for the National Guard, and I had no intention of quitting work, so it really was just kind of an "idea" that I wasn't sure would go anywhere.
Fast forward two and a half years, a re-occuring back injury that took me out of work, and becoming a stay at home mom, and observing as my sister pulled her kids out of public school and began homeschooling. At the beginning of 2012, my son, Ryder, who is now two, almost three- began a speech therapy program through Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) because he was having a hard time speaking and it was causing a lot of turmoil for him not being able to make himself heard.
As Ryder continued his speech therapy for the next six months, I was amazed at how fast he learned and wanted desperately to learn more every day... not just HOW to say the words, but to put them into action through play and learning. It's true what they say. Kids at this age are such sponges! They just soak up everything! At this time, I was seven months pregnant with my second child, Rhett, and decided then and there, I didn't want to wait until Kindergarten to start him on learning.
I began doing some web searches, and found a plethora of ideas and programs and things I could do right here at the house with him. The problem was there was SO MUCH out there! I didn't know where to start! It's very overwhelming to say the least.
That's when I stumbled upon another preschooler homeschool blog that had taken the FREE Brightly Beaming Letter of The Week Preschool Curriculum a step further by outlining everything one had to do to begin homeschooling their preschooler with minimal purchasing of anything! I had hit the jackpot! Everything was done FOR me, all I had to do was incorporate it. So I got started!
This blog is being set up as a digital record of the schooling that Ryder (and Rhett- later on) are receiving, in case I choose to continue homeschooling through their older years, as well as something they can look back on (kind of like a digital scrapbook) of learning. I encourage the family members, near and far, to check in often to watch my two wonderful SONS SHINE as they learn (and I learn through them).
What a wonderful blessing my back injury and becoming a stay at home mom has turned out to be. I am excited to begin this journey!
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