Another new chapter....

...begins today.  Today we start homeschooling Alaina.  I put it off for a while since I wasn't feeling well.  I didn't want the start of our homeschooling experience to be tainted by morning sickness.  And while I am still feeling sick a lot, I am much better than I was and Alaina is very eager to start.  I am feeling ready, too.

Homeschooling was something I always kept in my mind.  People often asked us if we would and I always said that it would depend on where we were, what we were doing, and what options we had. Because of our work schedule we think that this is definitely best for all of us right now.  We will homeschool this year.  And then we will make a decision about next year.  One year at a time.

We also made the decision to do kindergarten this year.  Although technically Alaina is preschool age, we still think this is best for her.  She has done two years of preschool already and is advanced for her age.  We won't push her.  We purchased kindergarten and preschool curriculum so we will accommodate as necessary.  However, after looking through the materials I am confident that she is more than ready.  In fact, at the beginning she may be a little bored.  We'll see.

I am so very proud of this girl.  She is truly something special.  I love seeing her heart and mind expand daily.  Just this morning, I was beaming with pride.  Each morning we have devotions with our boys.  Over the past two weeks we have been learning the books of the Bible.  Alaina sits with us every day but I had no idea how much she was soaking in, especially with words like "Obadiah."  But this morning she recited, with only a few prompts, all of the books of the Old Testament (up until Zephaniah since we haven't done the last four yet). I couldn't believe how well she did -- even with pronunciation!

And to listen to her pray. Her heart is so sweet and sensitive -- praying for the boys who have left us, praying that God would keep His hands around us, praying that we would learn to obey Him. Makes me love being a mom even more.

Thanks for letting me brag a bit. My heart is full.

Comments

[MandaKay]

OH - how sweet it is to hear little children talking and praying like that! We have a series at church right now on prayer and how many of us were never TAUGHT how to pray. I am one of those people so I am hoping that the series helps me to learn how to pray and in turn I will be able to teach my children! Great post - good luck with homeschooling - you and Alaina will do GREAT!

[Margie]

What a wonderful thing to be able to brag about! How precious!!

[Theresa Marie]

it's so neat to read about your young daughter praying like that. my daughter is only almost 2 and is praying, but I can't wait until she's speaking more so in sentences to see what she actually prays beyond the "bless elephant - amen" stuff :)

I want to thank you also, because your post brought encouragement to me with homeschooling. I am in the midst of making that decision for next year. So thank you for the encouraging blog post!