Friday, June 4, 2010

First Homeschool Year Finished!



Look at that - same shirt in both pics, on a different kiddo though. We have three of those shirts. Really. And look at Mr. T wearing yellow and Little Miss wearing pink both times. Are we a bit too predictable, folks?!

Now accepting applications: Family seeking fun-loving, godly homeschool teacher. Applicant will be responsible for providing total educational development and daily personal care for children of multiple ages. Applicant will assume the following roles: cook, housemaid, nurse, taxi driver, administrative assistant, accountant, athletic coach, social director, computer technician, household and automotive repairman, gardener, course instructor in multiple subject areas and grade levels, and various other responsibilities. This is a full-time position — approximately 120 hours or more per week. Qualified candidates must be able to work well under pressure, multi-task, and prioritize work loads while maintaining a friendly, enthusiastic attitude. Quick thinking, good memory, and a varied background in extensive subject matter are a must. Promising candidates will be resourceful, adjust easily to distractions, and display creative, hard-working leadership abilities. Organizational and problem solving skills are a plus. Previous teaching experience and/or college preferred, but is not required. If you're interested in working in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment, this is the position for you! For more information on this exciting opportunity to earn fulfilling, one-of-a-kind rewards, please apply in person today.

This was a part of a devotional sent to me by Alpha Omega Publishing, the company whose curriculum we used for our homeschooling. You can read the entire devotional here.

These were a lot of my thoughts (fears, really!) last year as we were considering homeschooling, and I strongly felt opposed to it. In fact, I fought against it with all I had! I honestly didn't think I could do it (especially as I finally reluctantly agreed to give it a try, without much enthusiasm and motivation). But here we are, done with the first year. The accomplishment feels great - it wasn't easy, but it was amazing. We had our horrible, terrible, very bad days, but the goodness and the benefits of homeschooling made it all so worth it. We did it. It was good. We'll homeschool again next year!

It is hard to believe we are done - I'm so used to doing school in the morning that I think I will actually miss that routine. The kids seem to already know exactly how to fill that morning school time: sleeping in, staying in bed and reading books :) Hey, nothing wrong with that, at least the first week of vacation!



When we got to St. Pete, we got involved with a local homeschooling group almost immediately. Tonight, in perfect timing, was their end of the school year beach party, and it was awesome! Especially since we had finished our year about three hours earlier!




You can click the poster larger. Not sure where I found this (last year) online, but it has proved to be great encouragement. And I'll leave everyone with this thought: if I can homeschool, so can you...

*** Edit: I interviewed the kids about their first year of homeschooling. For this blog. Did I remember to add it to this post? Nope!! Stay tuned for the part II of this post. If I can find my notes from the interview.

9 comments:

  1. It is a great sense of accomplishment...we do school year round, but only because we get so busy that we end up taking a month off here and there...

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  2. Congratulations! And enjoy the well earned vacation!

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  3. Mahtava suoritus, teiltä kaikilta! Perinteisesti suomalaisen koulun penkillä istuneelle kotikoulu kuulosti alkuun aika hurjalta ajatukselta ja ymmärrän hyvin, että itsekin alkuun olit sitä vastaan. Onneksi kokemus lopulta oli pelkästään positiivinen ja antoi teille hurjasti omaa vapautta arjen pyöritykseen ja reissaamiseenkin.

    Onnittelut koko porukalle, koululaisille ja tehokkaalle opettajalle :-)

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  4. Those job application requirements sounded just like you!! :-)
    Well done, congratulations!

    Jaana

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  5. Jennifer, thank you! I have thought about the benefits of going year-round.. One of our sons actually would like me to set up 6th grade curriculum for him so he could start doing it slowly. I'll do that, but I'll give him a break first :)

    Thank you, Soile!! It hasn't sunk in yet that we have started our vacation, but maybe on Monday it will :)

    Kiitos, perheenäiti :) Iso työhän se oli meiltä kaikilta, mutta upea vuosi oli!

    Kiittää ja kumartaa, Jaana <3 :)

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  6. Onnea kaikille kouluvuoden paattamisesta! Tuntuu, etta juurihan te pohditte koko kotikoulua ja nyt on jo vuosi mennyt. Well done! :) Ja hauskaa kuulla, etta meinaatte jatkaa samalla systeemilla.

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  7. Kiitos Mamae! Nopeasti meni vuosi.

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  8. I've been up reading your blog for the past hour... I'm so jealous! I wish I could do what you and your AWESOME family do! I'd love to take the kids out onto the road and show them the amazing parts of the country! Near then end of the last school year the "experts" at the local school tried to tell me that my sweet little Ramona was needing to go into special classes and to take medication for her ADHD. I am not advocating any certain course of action except the course of action you seem to show in your family... hands on nurturing and teaching. I gave up position on a few Boards and threw myself into giving my kids the extra "education" they needed at home. I'm happy to say that Ramona exceeded expectations. She has not taken medications and her grades have improved. Again, your family is such an inspiration! Do you mind if I link your site on my blog??
    Because it is a family site I will wait for your approval.

    Thanks for "being there"...
    Spuds!

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  9. Spuds, thank you so much for your comment! Yes, of course you may link my blog to yours.

    Fantastic to hear about Ramona's improvement, you are a great dad, giving her the best medicine = you.

    I follow some blogs of full-time rv-families, and I so admire them. We don't full-time, but do cherish the time on the road with our family. It has been a great adventure & has brought us all closer to each other (even if some days are a struggle in a very small space :).

    Happy 4th!!

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