A Brave New Adventure

Well, it looks like it is finally going to happen. All our books are neatly placed upon the bookshelves in our make-shift school room, our schedule is on the wall and lesson plans have filled my notebooks. We are beginning this adventure with a study of ancient Egypt followed by a look at Greece and then Rome. The kids and I can hardly wait. I've been wanting to homeschool since before LilliAnn was born and in four days it will finally happen.

Maybe homeschooling doesn't seem very brave to you, but I've spent years not following this dream because I was afraid of the criticism and disappointment of others. This year I finally realized that my children were growing up quickly and I was about to let all of our hopes and dreams for our children disappear without a fight. Their time in (award winning) public schools has been a nightmare so far, to say the least, and their education has really suffered for it. I found myself having to reteach at least half of what they had supposedly covered in school each year. What a relief to finally be fully responsible again for their education. Though, I realize this means I get all of the blame if they don't succeed, I guess I have always carried that blame anyway, so I might as well get all the joyful benefits as well.

I hope you'll say a prayer for us when you read this. We are all very excited, but we still rely on the Lord's guidance here. That's why we've adopted this scripture as our motto for the year:

"All your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children's peace." Isaiah 54:13