Preparing to Homeschool

I'm a bit of an over-planner by nature. I don't freak out when things don't go as planned, but I can't stand to not have a plan.

 - Did I mention the first homeschool convention we went to, my firstborn wasn't even born yet? 

Yeah, so I was planning my homeschool before I even quit my public job. Before I had even given birth to a child.
Crazy? Yeah, possibly, a bit...

 What were my expectations, anyway?
1. I was public schooled
 2. I taught public school
These greatly influenced my thought as to what my homeschool would look like.
I actually wanted to buy a school desk to put in the office or living room. I wanted the cubby for all her school stuff, and a desk for all my teachery stuff.
 I went to conventions and workshops (ask any school teacher, we do these a lot), took notes, and learned....

 Homeschool does NOT look like public school.
 DUH!
II Corinthians 6:17a "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord...."

Another stumbling block:
There are millions of curricula out there! How do you possibly choose what will work best for your child? I mean, I've done the differentiation for students, but this.... It takes on a new meaning when you're spending your personal funds (now cut back drastically) and you haven't figured out what homeschooling is really like yet.
Hard to prepare for that. I had four years of college, and a few years teaching before I had to worry about textbooks in the classroom.

 I soon realized my "expectations" blew up into pieces and I could go no further because I hadn't asked the foundational questions:
- Why homeschool?
- What is the worldview I want my child(ren) to learn by?
- If she (they) only truly learn one thing, what do I want that to be?
- What type of person do I hope they grow up to be?

 Let's face it - if I don't know the answers to those questions, I cannot properly plan my homeschool. 

So? My answers:
- I want control over what my children learn. (Eph. 6:4, Deut. 6:7-9)
- I want to instill a Biblical worldview into their minds/hearts. (II Cor. 10:5, Rom. 12:2)
- I want them to learn to distinguish truth from falsehoods. (James 3:13-18)
- I want them to be dedicated, Christ followers. (Prov. 22:6, I Cor. 15:33)

 Surprisingly, though this narrows down a lot of my choices, it was still overwhelming.

 My oldest (M'ija) is a fast learner, I knew she'd be ready (and desire) to start school early. So I prayed. I knew I could forgo a strict curriculum her kindergarten year, but I wanted a PLAN.
Every thing falls to the wayside if I don't have a plan. May not go according to the plan, but it won't go at all without one.

 Am I the only one like that?

 Anyway, I prayed, scoured Pinterest and Google, read blogs...
 Philippians 4:6-7 "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus ."

Then we started "preschool." ..... https://www.flickr.com/photos/pastorcabbyjr/12307468365