Confessions on a Pajama Day

The weather is nasty outside, so it is a stay home and get some things done in your pajama's type day.  I will post pictures of the kids a little later this week, but I wanted to talk about homeschooling, and the desire to homeschool in our family.

I have been thinking about this for a few years now and am excited each and every day about the thought of homeschooling.  Through talking to a few different people and looking into a bunch of different teaching options, I have settled on this program from the Foundation for American Christian Education (www.face.net).  It teaches using what they call the Principle Approach using the Bible and Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language as the basis of learning.  It is not about filling out workbooks and completing lessons, but about the child reasoning, deducting, researching, reading the classics, writing out lessons and thoughts in their own notebooks.  I know for too many years I just memorized for the tests, and am excited about learning again some of the basics and beyond.  I am actually going through a self directed study book now in preparation, and to retrain even the way that I learn, that I can apply in every area of my life.

So with that being said, won't the kids need socialization?  Yes, and I know I could use that myself!  I do plan on getting involved with other homeschoolers and/or homeschooling organization (there are currently over 1.5 million children being homeschooled in the country right now), and there is no way I am keeping my kids away from sports, we plan on getting involved in Boy Scouts and other activities like that, and taking trips and hand's on activities to reinforce all that we have been learning.  

At this time, this is my passion, and I just wanted to share that will all that read this blog.  I know that all of our children have a lot of similarities and differences, and I look forward unlocking the passion and meet the needs of each specifically.  

"Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well, the end of his Life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternall Life, John 7:3, and therefore to lay Christ as the bottome, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning." ~ New England's First Fruits, Harvard College, 1643

Ok, that is all I have for now on this subject, we will continue with the pictures and updates on the kids at the end of the week!