Big decisions. . . .

 In Australia children start "kindy" at 4 years old.  They attend 2-3 days a week, so our little girl would be beginning school this February.  One of the biggest decisions we have been prayerfully considering, basically since her birth, is what to do about schooling. We have been trying to decide whether we were going to send her to school or home school her.  We have gone back and forth, had many discussions with people who homeschool and with others who are opposed to home-schooling, we have looked at multiple curriculums, and above all have prayed a lot.

 This week we have made our decision.  We are going to take this year and home school her.  We aren't making a decision about the rest of her school career, we are going to take one year at a time and keep our minds open.  Neither Ed nor I feel like home schooling is the only way to go, there were big pluses and minuses to all our schooling options.  We have seen children grow and thrive in both public schools and at home and we have seen the opposite as well, we simply feel that this is what is right for our family right now.

I know there will be some ups and downs, it will take some time to get things rolling and organised.  We will make some mistakes, but we are really excited about this new adventure in our household.

Matilda is looking forward to all the things we are going to be learning together.  Our lives are typically crazy busy, filled with family, friends, our work with the church, and most importantly our little people.  We have made it a point to involve our kiddos in our work here, they visit with us, help us prep meals, and come along to anything that goes down with the group, and now we will work together in their learning experience.  

She is as smart as she is beautiful.

I know I will have to be disciplined and organised (2 traits that aren't always my strongest). My  heart tells me this is the right decision for our family.  Why did we decide to home school her?  It gives us a way to tailor her education for her needs and strengths, to build around her interest and work at her speed.  It enables us to bring God into all aspects of her education.

We also want to get involved in the home school community here in Perth.  We've already enrolled her in some classes so that we can meet some of these other families.  She'll be doing Art, Music, and Spanish with them.  We will also be keeping her active in sport.

If you have home schooled before or are doing it now, what tips do you have to keep things running smoothly?  Are there curriculums you have loved?