Week one: Kindergarten!!!

Woah, wait, did this really happen already?!

So, first week of "kindergarten" with my girl. I wanted to try a week before getting with my CC community - feel out a schedule and see how well the memory work goes for her.

Proverbs 16:3
"Commit thy works into the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established."

I love it.

So, first, she surprises me with how well she can memorize stuff - especially if there is a song. No, she won't tell other people what she's learned, but she will say it to me. Over and over again.  

It's the age, their brains right now are geared towards memorizing things - that's how they learn daily communication and behavior skills.  And yes, I am amazed. I am blessed.  She's not perfect, but she's willing to work - or face the consequences.
- yes, I make her work. I'm not a strict task master, I understand her age, lack of focus, and need for movement. However, I do make her complete a section at a time. She needs to learn that sticking with something, even if it's just five minutes, is important.
- Proverbs 12:1 "Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof [is] brutish."
- Proverbs 29:15 "The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left [to himself] bringeth his mother to shame."

Enough of that rant.

Our days... Let's see...

CC Memory work covers a wide variety of topics. A timeline of the world (general info), history facts, science facts, English grammar, Latin, Math (formulas, skip counting, etc), geography.... When the children get older, it's up to the parents to expound on this information. For M'ija, I'm just going to take it week by week and see how much she can remember.

Doing the memory work doesn't take long at all - I tend to throw it in when we are doing laundry, cleaning, whatever. Example: She learned four Latin words while helping me hang laundry on the line, and I reviewed them later that day while washing dishes

All the memory stuff I've gone over with her, she's currently got. Oh, I'm sure she will forget some, but really if she retains even one tenth of what she learns this year I'll be thrilled. It's her first year and she is young - I refuse to stress about it.

Next, we work on phonics. Yes, we are doing phonics to help her learn to read. Sight words are good, even necessary to a point, but learning to sound out words is (in my opinion) a very important skill that seems to be lost in modern education.
With learning to read comes learning to write - I'm teaching them together. She's already practiced her alphabet, and while she needs more work I think she does a great job for her age.

We spend... Probably 15-25 minutes on this, depending on how well she is able to focus. She does well with worksheets, flash cards, and a simple story/poem that matches the phonetic lesson. It's a bit of prep work, but not too bad. I found a book I love and works great for her. I kinda hope my youngest can use it too. (Link at the end of my post, and no, I do not get paid for my suggestions.)

We are doing math too - her skills in counting are decent, so while I want to perfect her ability to count to 100, I also decided it was time to teach her basic addition/subtraction.
- I realized this also means she needs to be able to write her numbers... See why I said I'm not an expert at this? Someone who has studied early childhood development or elementary Ed would have been like "Duh, you have to plan x and y in order to accomplish z!"  Me, I'm like, "Ooo, I think you're ready to learn z!  Wait, you should probably be able to do x and y first... Let's learn it together!"
So, her penmanship of numbers is also being taught with her math.

Skip counting is part of the CC curriculum (multiplication tables when the students get older), so we worked on that for two days because she had a bit of trouble understanding the concept. Then, I decided to give her a day break before jumping into addition up to ten.
- Another side note: she had done flash card addition previously and enjoyed it, so I knew she was capable at some level.

Yep, got a mathematically inclined child. Must take after her father there.... I didn't want her to learn addition by counting shapes on paper - we did that a year or so ago. I had to find worksheets online with actual *numbers* for her to add.
She did seven problems on her own, got two wrong, and figured the correct answer herself the second time.
She counts on her fingers, not in her head, but I'm ok with that. Again, she's young and it's her first year doing "school".  I want her to really understand the concept before working on mentally adding and subtracting.

Most importantly, I am teaching her the Bible. Verses to memorize, but also stories. We read from the Bible (we use KJV), and I explain things to her. I summarize what we read in simple words.
We are currently studying the story of Jonah. She's familiar with it, but reading it out of the Bible is different than hearing it in Sunday school or watching VeggieTales. We read chapter one, and I had to explain some of what happened in other words. My child doesn't know what casting lots is, or what the word tempestuous means. It's ok. It gives us a chance to talk - I read and retell, and she asks questions. If she doesn't have a question, I ask her a question about it.
- What's really nice: I've learned a few new things myself.

This pretty much sums up our first real week of dedicating time daily to "school".  Friday, we had a good bit of errands to run, so we didn't get far with our phonics review and didn't have any time for writing or math.

It is ok. I can fit it in Saturday, or just let it wait until Monday. I'm a homeschool mom, school is learning about life, and learning everyday. To be successful in life you learn new things (almost) daily.
It's a daunting responsibility, but also a great liberty.

Will every week be as successful as this week? Probably not.
Again, it is OK.

James 4:13-15
" Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall do this, or that."

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."

God bless!!

Freedom

There is a great freedom in homeschooling your children.
It is a burden at times, but there is also liberty in it.

 2 Corinthians 3:17
Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

The responsibility of a Christian parent is the education of their child. Whether they homeschool, private school, or public school heir children, they are responsible for their child learning truth and the truth of God.

This is where I find homeschooling liberating. It places my husband and I firmly in control of what our children learn.  All the massive amounts of curricula available out there? Yeah, I can go through it (with prayer) and use exactly what is right for my family.
Wanna know what makes it even cooler?
You can do the same thing, yet not do the same thing.
A. K. A. You can go through it all and pick what is right for your children and you. It may not be what I do. It may be partly what I do, partly something else. It may be exactly what I do.

I have friends who are using CC (classical conversations). I am making new friends in my community.
I also have friends who use CC and a different co-op. I have friends who use the Charlotte Mason method. I have friends who do a more modern/typical approach to homeschooling. And there's even more options out there, if you try these things and they don't work for you and your youngins.
There are private schools and public schools. You need to do what God tells you is right, not what the world tells you you need to do. If God says do and the world says you can't - who should you listen to...?

I've had this recommended to me, and I'm likely to look into it soon for the additional stuff I want (reading, etc) - if I can find it free/cheap.
https://www.amazon.com/102-Top-Picks-Homeschool-Curriculum/dp/0929320190

So, while most of the rest of my posts will be centered around CC and how that is going for my family, that isn't my way of saying it is the way you should school your children.

Every child is different.
Parents are different.

If you are following Gods lead, you are doing what is right.

So, I am whole-heartedly into CC, I am convinced this is right where God wants us now.  That doesn't mean He will tell you to follow my footsteps.
- He sent Paul to the Gentiles, Peter to the Jews. Neither was wrong, yet they were not doing the same thing.

That being said - I do believe there is a black and white, wrong and right in this world. I don't want to come across as someone who believes in relative truth and goodness.
I also don't want to come across as someone who says "I'm doing it the perfect way and everyone should follow my example."

This is my story and my reasons. Please take it for what it is. If you have questions about how and why that I don't answer, ask them.
If you see a problem with my logic and want to point it out, please do (just be polite about it). I want you to be able to use this blog as you wish - just an ongoing story to read, or an interaction between fellow moms/parents of littles or homeschooling parents.

That is my disclaimer. I find freedom - liberty - in doing this. In homeschooling.

It is a burden. It can get confusing, tough. It's occasionally overwhelming to know that I am fully responsible and can't pass it off to someone who is "better educated" than I am.

I may have an education degree from college, but it's in Spanish. Not early learning, not phonics, math.... So yes, even I get nervous about it all.

Then I remember a few things.
1. God gave my hubby and I these children, and His word states often that it is our responsibility to care and educate them.
2. He gave me a love for learning and a desire to impart that love to my children.
3. He has provided miraculously to allow me to stay home with them.
4. He will always provide what I need. Curriculum, another parent to help teach if I end up with a mathematically inclined child (which I am not), a community of fellow believers to support and help.

It's not about if I meet the worldly requirements to homeschool my children. It's all about the fact God has told me to do this. He has guided me to CC and in many ways confirmed that this is where I need to be.

I pray, if you are reading this, that He has guided you to where you are. If not, then I pray you find the courage and receive the grace needed to be where He wants you.

The invitation that burdened my heart...

My heart got burdened, my mind needed to be changed.
All my plans needed to change.

Isn't it so frustrating - when we think we know what's right but God says "Nope, do things this way!"?

Here's what happened.

I visited a community day of Classical Conversations with a friend.

I learned there are different models of education - modern and classical.
The Classical model of education. What is THAT?

More research, more visiting, more praying.
- note: my husband, while less actively involved, was definitely consulted. We went to conferences together, discussed goals for our girls, etc. He knows what I'm getting our girls into and is all for it. I just did a lot of the foot work because I am the stay at home mom. Part of the job description.
- Ephesians 6:22-23
- "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
- For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body."
- Titus 2:3-5
- "The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
- That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
- To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."

The Classical model is VERY different than modern teaching.
A Classical Christian model is even more so.

I'll give a brief summary/idea for those of you not familiar with it. Then, I will give references that I have used and/or am reading if you want to look deeper.

First, Classical refers to the fact that learning takes place in three stages - grammar, logic, rhetoric.
In the first years of brain development, memorization is what it does best (grammar, the foundation of knowledge).
Then, the brain begins to ask questions to try and make sense of all the information (dialectic, the why and how).
Finally, you are able to express your own opinions and views (rhetoric, explaining and teaching).
- Think about when you learn something new. If I wanted to learn to do carpentry, I would first need to learn the terminology used (grammar), then why I would use one type of saw over another (dialectic), and then I could actually build something (rhetoric).
Another difference that stuck out to me is the fact that all subjects are connected in a Classical model. What you learn in history connects with English, science, etc. It's not separated and seemingly unrelated.
- I believe this to be soooooo important. Connecting the different aspects of life one to another is hard enough, if you aren't taught now they connect, it's so easy to compartmentalize life in destructive ways.
Classical education is different in a few other ways, so here is an article that tells you more without being and entire book.
https://welltrainedmind.com/a/classical-education/

A Christian education is, of course, Christ (therefore God) centered.
It's a worldview thing.
Ephesians 6:1-4
1
Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
2
Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)
3
That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
4
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Matthew 22:37-38
37
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38
This is the first and great commandment

No education is without some religious lean. If we try to "leave religion out of it", we are then teaching with a humanist/atheistic worldview.
Douglas Wilson said in his book "God is the Light in which we see and understand everything else. Without Him, the universe is a fragmented pile of incomprehensible particulars... Christian education must therefore present all subjects as parts of an integrated whole with the Scriptures at the center."
A few pages later, he said "The Christian educator's job is not to require the students to spend all their time gazing at the sun. Rather, we want them to examine everything else in the light the sun provides. It would be utmost folly to try to blacken the sun in order to be able to study the world around us 'objectively'."
(Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning)

Putting those two together is going to be a huge challenge for me. The Christian part in making sure all my materials either reflect the correct worldview, or I use them appropriately.
The Classical part because there is a LOT I myself am going to have to learn/relearn.

I am not comfortable >teaching< a Classical Christian model of education for one reason only - I am new to it.
I do know, however, that this is what God wants for my children. I know it, better than I have known a lot of decisions in the past.
I also know that, where God guides, He provides.

Now, maybe you want a Christian education for your child(ren), but don't want to mess with the Classical model. Go for it! You can still put God at the center of your child's education using the modern education model.
Or, perhaps you don't want a Christian education for your child, but the Classical model intrigues you. Look into it some more, I bet you can find a way.

Me, I am praying and finding a way to do what God wants for my children.

I've joined Classical Conversations. It's pretty much a curriculum and co-op put together. Like anything, you need to provide some outside learning. Reading/writing isn't included, nor basic addition/subtraction/etc.
Plus side: it provides SO much of what I've been looking for - curriculum, community, Christ-centeredness.
Down side: it's a bit on the expensive side as there is tuition.
However, there are ways to step up and off-set the cost.  I'm going to tutor during the community meeting days, which is a big help. Not just financially, but it gives me (personally) an extra bit of accountability to force me to prepare each week.
Also, other than the teacher guide and tin whistle, you don't need to buy anything new unless you want to. There are some very useful extras, but I'm going to wait a year or so before spending the money.

So really, I think it is every bit worth the financial commitment. I remind myself constantly, if God wants this, He will provide for it.

And so, in about two weeks, our community meetings begin. I am still working on a complete understanding of it all, but I do have enough of a grasp to begin climbing. Mainly due to books, websites, the parent practicum, and the community group.

God always points where He wants you to go. I've been working on this post for a week, still praying and insecure with making such a big decision. Yet, this week, as I read my book about Classical Christian education, as I continue to pray and go to church, as I pay attention to other people preparing their children for the new school year - God has told me that, yes, this is what HE wants me to do.

So, we will go. We will do.
Here am I, Lord, send me. My mission field is my children, I will go where I am not comfortable.

Here are references I've either looked at or are on my list.

* Dorothy Sayers "The Lost Tools of Learning" (read, available online for free, and is also in the back of the following books)

* Classical Christian Education Made Approachable.  (First one read, a great intro)

* Douglas Wilson - "Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning" (reading through this currently)

* https://www.circeinstitute.org/resources-web-features/recommended-articles
- This website has a good bit of useful info, it was one of my first sources.

* https://welltrainedmind.com/a/classical-education/
- Similar to the above website

* https://www.classicalconversations.com/
- This gives a more limited amount of introductory info, but if you decide to do with it, there's is a cheap subscription that is very worth it.

* "The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide To Classical Education at Home"
- I've read parts of this

* Leigh Bortins - "The Core"
- On my list, the author came up with Classical Conversations

* CS Lewis - "The Abolition of Man"
- It's CS Lewis! Definitely next on my list

* David Hicks - "Norms and Nobility"
- The quotes I've read from this are phenomenal.