I think you will be happy as long as the kiddos go along with it. I homeschooled a grandson that I inherited due to his mother's death while she was pregnant. He was saved, but only weighed 2 lbs. There were lots of trials. It will be 24 years this Nov. I schooled him until 7th grade, and at that time he wanted to try public school. He says he learned more at home than he ever learned in public school. I gave up my nursing program to invest in him. He tells me everyday how thankful he is and how much he loves me. He is very successful today. I'm sure your girls will excel at home. I'll be interested to follow how they like it.
IM SO GLAD you made this video. we have been thinking about it giving the fact our town has already had multiple lock downs and shooting threats. Thanks for sharing that you also decided to home school. I will be showing this to my husband.
Also rhe standardized testing is all the public schools is terrible my kids are already burnt out and they are only in second and third. My youngest is very active and hates being stuck inside and my oldest doesn't like how loud the classrooms get cuz she's more quiet but also we have been really contemplating because of their safety.
If you are even thinking about home schooling I believe that is already what you know in your heart is the right thing to do, the hardest part is making the decision to take them out, we've been homeschooling for 7 years after being in public school for 6 and I have NEVER regret my decision!
I'm so glad that you're homeschooling the girls. Public schools today isn't what it used to be when I went to school back in the 80s and 90s. It'd gotten worse since the first school shooting back in 1995 when It'd happened in Jonesboro Arkansas and Columbine High School in Littleton Colorado in 1999. And not to mention that the democrats and liberals have turned our public schools into a drag queen circus. If men wants to parade around in dresses, fine let them but do not expose the children to that kind of smut in our public schools. They're there to get an education, not to be exposed such filth. It's uncalled for. And the boys needs to stay out of the girls bathrooms and do not let them compete in girls athletics. That's just a lawsuit for sexual harassment waiting to happen. So sorry for ranting on but yeah I'm so glad that you're homeschooling your girls. I wholeheartedly believe that they'll do so much better being taught at home by you and Nate than being taught at school. I'd wished I'd homeschooled both of my boys instead of enrolling them in Louisiana public schools. Biggest mistake I'd ever made as their mother. Well I hope they don't hold it against me. Again sorry for ranting on. May God bless you all ♥️ 🙏 much love from Texas ❤🤠
@@lacy454yes, the standardized testing is more frequent now. The learning materials are tied to those tests....but it's not a " working" knowledge. It's more like memory based. Not a thinking/problem solving/ useful based. The funding for school and teachers salaries are often based on the performance on those tests
I was dragged into homeschooling my daughter kicking and screaming--chronic illness is not something the public school system deals well with. It was bumpy for awhile (newbies at the 9th/10th grade mark!!) My best advice--give yourself grace for the first few months; there's no "behind" in homeschooling. It will take awhile to adjust and figure it out. Within a year, you'll realize it's the best decision you ever made and you'll (likely) decide to keep doing it! Good luck!
I’ve been homeschooling for a few years and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done for my children. I pulled my daughter out at 3rd grade and within a month her spirit came back to life. It’s a blessing that I’ve been able to do this. Great books you’re using… I’m going to incorporate some of them. Absolutely loved this.
Good for yall! I homeschooled for several years, and it was such a blessing to our family. We currently do a private school/ homeschool hybrid (2 home, 3 at short day school) and love it. Set realistic expectations, don't feel pressured to recreate "traditional school" at home, and give yourselves and each other grace through the adjustment. There will be tears-- by all, lol-- but it can be such an amazing experience!
Oh my GOSH! I would take this to a higher authority. That behavior of asking if the child WANTS to homeschool(or whatever!), is how children get taken from families via CPS. You owe the school system NO explanation for your decision. I would definitely become a member of HSLDA this year...in case you hear from the public school again. That is not okay. I've been homeschooling for 21 years, and you would not believe the stories I hear about local school overreach in regards to homeschoolers. Some of it is just not knowing the homeschool law...some is definitely more "nefarious". Anywho...lol😂...I'm so excited for you guys! You will love it, and there are lots of homeschooling groups on FB, etc..who are a wealth of knowledge and inspiration. You will ALL do great!! ❤
I was homeschooled growing up and like you didn’t love it but I just missed the social part of public school. I have been subbing this year and while our schools aren’t exactly like you described there I am wanting to pull my kids out and homeschool them even more than I wanted to before. Congratulations on taking that step and thank you for the encouragement!
I have homeschooled from the beginning. I have zero desire to have my kids worry about testing. My kids get to learn at their own pace, one teen is in college courses at age 15, another is dyslexic and neurodivergent and were going at his slower pace. We have been blessed with all the possibilities that homeschool gives us as a family.
I applaud your decision to home school. I retired from teaching 14 years ago. I believe we have gotten wiser in recent years in understanding what's best for kids. If I were a young mother today I would do what you have done.
There is a wonderful podcast Called to Homeschool and it has helped me so much in my homeschool journey with my son. I also love The Good and Beautiful curriculum.
We homeschool our daughters, as our older sons went thru thr public schools. Best decision we have ever made. My oldeast daughter has Juvenile Rhemotid Arthritis and her treacher (who had my sons and had been teaching for 15 years) told me that she didn't know how to help her. My daughter hands would hurt when it was damp or cold out and she would have trouble writing. I went home from that meeting and told my husband we were pulling her. Never loooked back! Have used many programs love Master Books and The Good and the Beautiful. You are doing the right thing with your daughters. It will take time to find what works for your family I am sure you will do wonderful! We found a wonderful Homeschool that does field trips, usually 1 day a month. That has been a blessing too.
As a public educator, I had to laugh because I get "in trouble" because my kids are rarely at their desk working. I told admin, that the desks just get in the way of learning. Yet I have some of the highest test scores. So they can explain that.
I'm so proud of you for making this choice. I home schooled my Autistic grandson. From second grade until his senior year. He was nonverbal when we started . He requested to ho to school in his senior year. He wanted to walk the stage with others and he did that. Obe of my proudest days .
I have loved you guys since you first helped animal sit for Jess and Miah. I cried when I found out you were going to be taking over their homestead in Arkansas. I was so happy that good people would be stewarding what they started. I am also a public school teacher in NC. I came to this career late, in my mid 30s, and this is my 21st year. I have taught 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. At the beginning of every year there are always preassessments we have to do to determine where students are so that we can create a plan to help them. That may be why students were given videos to view. The teacher was probably doing 1:1 assessments and needed students to remain on task while they worked with individuals. Where I am now, we have a curriculum for math and reading that doesn’t allow for the kinesthetic and naturalistic learning I believe is good for our children. Children do need to be moving around and getting involved in nature. I try to make this better through the field trips we offer our students. I still am not allowed to do what I think is best, but I stay because the children in my neighborhood who have no other choice for education, need me. Above all I preach and teach about being kind to others and showing empathy because we never know what some students may be going through. Not everyone can learn on grade level, but everyone can learn to be nice to each other. Luckily, I live in a rural community. Based on the make up of my class each year, we may talk about what Jesus would do. Every once in a while, we get students from another country, but I can always have them think about what their higher power would want them to do. It is a fine line, but I do it. I understand why you decided to homeschool. I love you guys. Now and always!❤
We've been homeschooling for 7 years, and I have Never regretted my decision to take them out of public school! We also really liked the school they went to, it was the school my husband and I both went to but I knew this was not what I wanted for my family, my son is also very smart but was making horrible grades in school, especially in math, I took him out in 6th grade and within 2 months he was doing high school math at home, you know your children better than anyone and you are the best teacher your children will ever have !
You made the right decision to home school. My sister did homeschooling and it was great. Glad you are teaching cursive as that is very important in signing documents. I know public schools are not teaching cursive anymore. Many blessings on your new adventure with the girls. Looking forward to some updates with the girls. You guys are awesome!
Congratulations on your decision to homeschool! I was a public school educator before deciding to stay home with my littles. We sent my son to kindergarten and he was having panic attacks at drop off! I had always thought about homeschooling but as an extreme "rule follower" and "people pleaser" I was afraid to do it because I didn't know any one else who was doing it and it didn't feel like the "proper" thing to do. But after that kindergarten year, I just wanted to keep my babies close so we decided to homeschool and it was the best decision we've ever made. It is hard! And some days are just plain defeating! But I'm so happy and my kids are so happy with the way things are now. We also resonate with the Charlotte Mason style of educating and your rhythm and curriculum sound a lot like ours! I think you have a great spread and balance for your kiddos! My favorite project that we did last year was practicing using a ruler to measure planting beans around a bamboo teepee. The kids had a cool fort for the whole summer and my little 1st grader measured and grew everything himself! It was a magical first year for us. I hope you all have a blessed first year as well❤
I’m in a similar boat… last spring, I started feeling like we were on the wrong path. I never expected that we would homeschool but so far, it’s going good! I feel you in the “we don’t know what we are doing yet!” 😂 Thank you for being transparent. Prayers for your family. ❤
We do Ambleside online also. You landed on a great start! Best advise is to keep your goals flexible. I have changed our school approach a lot over the last 3 years and sometime even half way through the year when things don't sit well. I'm so happy you landed on the Charlot Mason style of education. Your kids will have such happy rich minds!
We are a blended family. My two older girls are 27 and 24...my bonus babies are 12 and 14. When my girls went to school (albeit not that long ago) it was different. Now, with Jackson and Addison, it has become a nightmare. Over the last few years they have been exposed to extreme bullying and many more things that have affected their ability to just go to school and learn. Not to mention the uptick in violence/threats of violence in our schools. I too have many opinions on schooling and teachers getting involved where they shouldn't be...but that's for another day! Right now, we do not have much of a choice because we all work full time. I pray for the ability to just bring them home someday, and I pray for you guys and this new journey! 💛
You two got this, homeschooling your kiddos ! I have been homeschooling for 4 years. I pulled my son out of a private school. While there are hard days, homeschooling is the best decision I have ever made for my son. Plus the time with your kids goes so quick. So enjoy the process & allow yourselves some grace in the process.
Congratulations! You won't regret it! We started homeschooling our kids 4th and 5th grades after being in private school all along. Our family is a family of teachers and I know it was hard for them when we made our decision. My kids are now 11th and 12th grades. My biggest advice is to still find ways for them to connect with kids outside of your home....co-op, sports, youth group, etc. My kids are very social and can talk to anyone, child or adult. But, it's the social experiences they miss the most, especially once they're in the high school years. Thankfully they are so integrated in other ways that they still have the opportunity to take part in high school social events that are important to them. Staying in groups outside of the home where they can establish friendships now is important now but even more important as they get older. At least that was our experience. Praise Jesus we're almost through and heading off to college!
Also....my kids have talked about going to school off and on throughout the years. I've told them that choice is theirs and ultimately, they have always decided staying home is a better fit. I pray we did enough and were good enough for them to be successful adults.
I sent both my children to public school. Now they are in their 30s. The country and things are definitely different now than they were when my children were young. I’m very proud of you and your husband for taking charge of your children’s lives and trying to make things work. Like you said some people don’t have that luxury and they have to choose public school. The girls look happy and you are at peace with your decision. That’s all that matters. Good video!
Yay! I am so excited for you guys! I am a second generation homeschooler. I have a son in 3rd grade and my daughter in 1st. This year we found a Christian biased co-op and it has been the best decision I have ever made. Every week we get together and the kids have made soooo many friends and I have too! Something I honestly never expected was how wonderful it has been for me. The support, the love, the advice. It makes me cry just thinking about it. Do it!! You are both doing such a wonderful job. Truly. You realized the problem, you trouble shoot and you address it. You did that!! Please give yourself grace to learn as well throughout this process. You will have good days where everything clicks and then the very next day everything feels so off. But isn't that life? Don't ever make it feel like it is a reflection on you. It definitely isn't. Reading, writing, and math are our daily focus then we tuck in the other topics to round those out and we have a beautiful, learning system and my children are excelling academically and socially. Don't ever fear your parent heart. God will give you what you need through the resources available to us in this free world to do our jobs at the best of our ability. You got this! I am happy for you and will always be in your corner to cheer you on! Wahoo!
So glad you decided to do homeschooling We have been homeschooling our youngest granddaughter from kindergarten. Since her dad and his new flavor of the month wanted her to attend public school, but the school she would attend has a D- rating, and that is not excepted for education. She does attend a Bible based teaching two days a week that is taught by retired teachers that believe what is being taught is lies and mind controlling. She is in third grade now and loves it. Proud of you
We are in the same boat! Love that you shared this. We have been attending a farm school it’s great for a lot of reasons and allows us flexibility to do more focused work at home. We love Charlotte Mason blended with unschooling approach. We are living in a very different education system and world than when I attended public school in the 90s. There is so much room to be creative with learning (thank you internet). Would love to hear updates on your homeschool journey!
Congratulations! You guys would probably enjoy the Tuttle Twins books. They're a really great read for any age and teach so much helpful information that's sometimes left out of the public school system. We have all the readers and the two history books, and highly recommend them.
So glad to hear about the home schooling. There are other homesteading families that do the same. Three Rivers Homestead have always home schooled their children and she's expecting #9!! Also, Answers in Genesis has really good curriculum for home schooling families too. Next time let us know, we love to help wherever we can. Hug all three for me, love y'all. You've taught us so much! God bless!
My oldest is autistic and I knew when we started Kindergarten, there was no way he would do well in our public school. We love homeschooling!!! I have grown so much as a parent and even understanding myself better through homeschooling the past almost 2 years. My son loves math, is on his own pace learning to read, and gets to spend everyday with his siblings!
Also, love your guys' disclaimers that you don't want to judge anyone for not homeschooling etc. The homeschooling scene can be very judgmental of traditional school families. And maybe for good reason, because they or their kids were hurt by the traditional school systems. We love Charlotte Mason! And I agree with being 5/Kindergarten. I let my son wait until 6 to start Kindergarten, and even then I noticed that right around 7 is when his love for sit down work exploded! We love Math With Confidence. Little School of Smiths for US History. You guys would LOVE Treehouse Schoolhouse Nature Studies!
Good for you! Our school system is totally broken. I helped my daughter-in-law homeschool my two granddaughters We started with pre-school and they both went to college. It was a privilege to be able to enjoy being a grandmother and teacher. We went on field trips and learned so many things together. Thank God for teacher manuals! My DIL attended a conference just for parents discussing homeschool curriculums (each summer). They had classes and vendors where you could check out the different styles and ask questions. Each girl had a different style of learning and Carol was able to discuss this with the curriculum vendor so she could properly choose which curriculum would be best. My granddaughter are now in their mid twenties and we often talk about the experiences we had. There was a lot of social interaction as we belonged to a group of homeschoolers. My one granddaughter took voice lessons and she was in so many plays. The other learned piano and we went to many recitals. It was a wonderful experience and my advice would be to check around and see if a parent could buddy with other parents to create a homeschool community. I can't imagine teaching in a classroom style but I can imagine teaching two or three children at the same time. Hope this helps. Mary Born, ND. Also, besides being able to attend to bodily functions, the girls were able to eat nutritious food and have water whenever they wanted to.
My daughter used the same botany and chemistry books. My granddaughter loved it. You're right there are so many choices of curriculum. Take your time the first year, be willing to make changes if needed. You all will be blessed.❤🙏
I am a second generation homeschooler and although it was my whole schooling career, its a whole new level when it comes to being the teacher and so I feel very much like a newbie as well. I had a great experience with homeschool growing up which has influenced my choice to do it for my own kids. My oldest is in the 1st/2nd grade level and we are using the Charlotte Mason philosophy as well which we love! It sounds like you guys are doing great! Best of luck for the 24/25 school year for you all!
Just graduated my last baby last year from homeschooling! Our first baby went to public school for kindergarten and that was enough to know that type of environment wasn't for us! Give yourself grace and don't make it harder than it needs to be knowing you've already taught them the hard stuff- how to walk, talk, eat and use the restroom! Homeschooling is life schooling! Blend it in naturally and enjoy every moment! It goes by so fast! So happy you are on this adventure of making memories while learning through life. From one homeschool 24/7 together family to another (local to you btw) THE DAYS ARE LONG BUT THE YEARS ARE SO SHORT... enjoy it all!
“I cannot in good conscious put my kids in our public school system knowing it goes against everything we teach at home” This part got me emotional. We just enrolled our kids in public school for the first time after homeschooling last year. Homeschooling was always the plan, then I made a really quick rash decision to put them in school just a few weeks before school started. We are in the process of pulling them out now. Thank you for sharing your story. This made me feel not as guilty for enrolling them and quickly pulling them out.
We are also homeschooling for the first time this year (5th, 3rd plus a preschooler and toddler at home) using a Charlotte Mason curriculum called the Alveary. Our kids were in a great Montessori school and people thought we were crazy for pulling them, but the more that the kids share about school that they hadn't shared before the happier I am that we pulled them. Way to go making the hard decision. You aren't alone 😊
I’m so thankful and happy for you!!!❤❤🎉🎉🎉🎉 my word I’ve always wondered why you didn’t and knew this was exactly where you would end up! So proud of you!😍😍❤️❤️
Love you guys, and you are absolutely making the right decision. I was a single mom. I didn't have this choice. But if I did I absolutely would have home schooled my children and I could have as I have a degree. I totally wish that. I could have home school. My grandchildren, but my kids are not of that mindset as they went to public school.
Yay!!! How exciting!! You will be fine, it can be challenging but so worth it. Once you get in your own rhythm and see the difference it makes, you will not want to have it any other way. We started in 2020. Good luck to you!preach it sister!❤
Best choice you ever made i think. Will be Praying for your family. You both can do it. We all have good/bad days and so do kids even babies. Keep on doing what your doing, its great !❤
The kids look so happy and so do you all! Good job guys! The only thing that popped into my mind is using my father’s world curriculum. It’s charlotte mason based. They have synergy guides to make it so all ages are doing the same curriculum for a bulk of the day then older kids switch for math or spelling or whatever and the younger kids do to. And they have stuff for real littles as well.
We are also kind of CM but nature school on Fridays and we love the heart of Dakota. The first half of the year is Bible history and the second half is American history and they’re all super fun picture books have a five year old and we’re new to homeschooling too!
omg this just makes me want to cry for those kids. I'm praying for your journey getting started with this. We don't have kids yet, but when we do this is definitely something we have considered. Thank you for sharing this ❤ you guys are both doing amazing and much such great leaders for your 3 kiddos
Congratulations! You will fall into a routine before you know it. We always kept a short record of what we did each day just in case any questions should ever arise. This also gave us a count of how many days it took us to do the year. 😊 I know everything is different from state to state.
We have been using apologia for science also and math. My middle daughter is a hands on learner and is in 3rd grade. Masterbooks is a great place to start for new homeschooling, and it is very Charlotte Mason style. We use not grass history. If you have a struggling reader or with dyslexia All About Reading and All About Spelling is amazing! Another great place to get unit studies is Gather Round Homeschool.
As an educator my philosophy is “ Play = Learning “ from pre-k through adulthood. If we think about it when we are expected to sit behind a table/ desk it is hard to keep my attention, but if learning is fun we excel! Good for you!
It's lovely to see the kids happy , wish wee had home schooling growing up , I hated school , just look how happy your kids are , yous are amazing parents , hope all works out , 😊 xx
❤ My husband and daughter are teachers in public/private schools, but I LOVE the idea of homeschooling! During the school year and over summers I led homeschool on top of public school making mornings about animal/plant husbandry, book work afterwards, cater to the weather and opportunities each day - free museum day, at least one day trip every week - Charlie loves to cook so math is easily put into recipes and June is creative so remember to build art into her learning! ❤❤❤
Fellow homeschooling mama here🤚 Congratulations! My eldest is an adult. My advice is to prioritize relationships. Also, kids under 8 don't need formal lessons. Lot's of what you're doing is the way! Plenty fo outdoor time in nature, read alouds, time with mom and dad, exploration. The curriculum will never matter. They will only remember how they felt. Relationships over all.
We have been homeschooling since 2012. Our oldest was completely homeschooled until last year. We all knew college wasnt going to be his thing, so his Junior year of HS we decided to let him go to the county trade school. He only does the trade classes, then finishes up his other lessons with us. May God Bless you on your journey ❤
🥲🙏🏻 I’ve been praying for both you and Jess for the longest time. 💞As your businesses soared, I watched both of you hand your children to other people for them to teach while you created content to teach others. My heart hurt. ❤️🩹😢 I prayed that both of you would come back to center 🧘🏼♀️and place your children in the center of your focus and energy. 🧘🏼♀️🙏🏻🫶🏻💖 💞Childhood passes so quickly. You are both extremely successful and everyone benefits from your knowledge. That said, your children miss out on the best of you when you’re selling yourself to others instead of giving the best to your children. 🤗🫶🏻💖🙏🏻🧘🏼♀️🍎📕📚👩🏼🏫
Congrats family. I myself pulled out 9 yr old son out in January of this year and we “deschooled” and are starting our first year of homeschooling. I just keep telling myself and my son I’m learning and we can learning together n it’s deff been one day at a time, I feel I’m all over the place and slowly getting there. We researched and ended up trying out the BJU press homeschooling online and I help teach along with his online program. It’s a Christian based program which is what I wanted. Public schools here where I’m at in FL have gotten sick and out of control and this year alone so far is so bad so I’m so glad we listened and researched and took the leap to try this out with our last child :) best of luck to you all and me 😉😉💪🏼💪🏼🙏🙏🙏 we got this
Congratulations! We are in our 5th year of homeschooling. My children had attended private Christian school prior to starting our homeschool journey. We gravitate towards the Charlotte Mason style learning as well. It is more in line with how we learn as adults. Never in my adult life have I opened a text book and then taken a test to demonstrate mastery. Now that said, my son is in 8th grade and taking Algebra with integrated geometry and there are quizzes and exams. In junior high we did add science tests to our Apologia science. We have a lot of discussions and spend much of our day reading. Once they hit 6th grade my children start writing papers weekly. In seventh grade they write their first research paper and this year we have added writing responses to literature. All this is to prepare them for career and possibly college, should they make that choice. We use Sonlight and it has been a great fit for our family. The language arts follows the same philosophy as Learning Language Arts Through Literature. We take each year as it comes. This year we added co-op (well more like tutor based learning taught by professionals). Both of my children take art taught by an artist and my son is in robotics, which is taught by an engineer. Customizing learning based on their skills and interests, focusing on mastering concepts before moving to the next concept, and having a natural learning environment that focuses on Christ, character, and life skills are our primary reasons for homeschooling.
Haven't looked through any of the other comments to see if anyone else has suggested it, but I have just started kindergarten with Gentle and Classical for my oldest, using their Primer curriculum, and we're really enjoying it. Two others I seriously considered were Gather Round's preschool / kindergarten options, and also My Father's World's kindergarten. I may still switch over to My Father's World sometime in the future, but for now I'm really liking the richness of the Gentle and Classical curriculum
Oh how cool on the Botany I have preacher been connecting the science and Bible so fascinating and biblical nutrition would be cool would want it for myself lol
For some reason I thought you’d homeschooled before! We’ve been homeschooling the last five years too… 4th and 1st grade this year. It’s NOT EASY but best decision EVER. We do the Charlotte Mason style as well, our curriculum is the Good and the Beautiful.
❤homeschooling!! We are now in our 15th year homeschooling, have graduated one with four more to go. It's not always sunshine and roses but I wouldn't trade a single minute of it. Spending this time with our kids has been our best decision ever. We are very eclectic and live on a farm, so lots of outdoor learning going on here🐮🐔🐏🍎🍇🍓
AMEN!!! You made such an amazing decision! I am a homeschool mom of 14 years so far and I will never send them back for all the reasons you mentioned and more!! The school system is NOT for our kids!!!
We were thinking about homeschooling back before Covid happened. Covid gave us the push we needed to get started and we’ve not looked back! It has brought us as a family closer together ❤ It’ll be challenging, but it’s SO worth it!
I am so happy to hear you are homeschooling! I have homeschooled my grandson going on 5 years now. It’s the best decision we’ve made. We do a Christian based curriculum and love it! I also take him to a homeschool co-op at our church every Friday. I’ve been able to teach classes for art, sewing, gardening, botany, and first aid. It’s been a true blessing for us both. Hang in there! You will always have good days and bad days, but everyday will be full of love, faith, and family, building strong bonds with each other.
Hey y'all, CONGRATULATIONS on making a decision!!! Public school worked fine for me because I was very smart I was an A student all my life and I even skipped the second grade. Now my son was very smart but had such little confidence and he was an absolute perfectionist and would tear up papers because of a mistake rather than erase it because people could still see the mistake was there. We knew he needed to go to a Baptist school starting from Kindergarten. The number one item on the school supply lists for every single grade was a King James Bible. This is what they learned to read from. They taught phonics which I had a worked for me. By the second grade all these kids were reading sentences like according to the scriptures by using phonics. President Bush was on TV spouting how He wanted every kid to be able to read see spot run by the third grade and that was a joke to me. The very first lesson to learn was personal responsibility. No one in the public school has ever heard of this idea, wow what a concept, editorial comment. They were still trying to figure out how apes evolved from human beings and worms evolved from birds ect. Every person and family will need to do what is best for every single kid. Brother and sisters may need different tools and lesson plans. So for all y'all still making decisions just pray about it and listen for answers look for clues. If your child's best interests and God's will being followed all will go well. God bless all our school children esp the ones that are struggling.
Jill I homeschooled my daughter through graduation. If you have any questions or want some fun ideas for the girls let me know. I didn't know you were homeschooled. You are going to be amazing at this part of your journey
You’re such great parents! You know your kids best ❤ I feel public school teaches kids to be a cog in the wheel instead of free thinkers. If I had it to do over I would have homeschooled from the beginning ❤
Please continue share videos about homeschooling and how you are managing schedules with a business, school and homemaking PLUS also running a farm. I am in that situation and struggling to meet all those needs.
So EXCITED for you guys! I was honestly surprised that you guys weren't already homeschooling because I could just see you guys doing it. I think in one video, I did see a clip or something of one of the girls at their nature school, and I was like, oh yeah, I can see that too! I homeschool my 2 wild men, and yes, while there are hard days, it is soo worth it! Thank you for doing this video, and reminding me why I chose to do this also! Big hugs, and high fives to you guys and your new adventures!❤
A Gentle Feast is a great comprehensive curriculum that coordinates multiple grades. She provides book lists for each subject. I have littles so I like doing school work with meals and snacks to keep everybody’s mouths and bodies busy and focused!
We decided to pull our daughter after the 5th grade from public.she was being bullied and getting in trouble because she wasn't getting her energy out. She wasnt also being challeneged. So we decided online homeschooling and we had her skip a grade and she's doing amazing.
I homeschooled both of our kids through there highschool years and My daughter started in Middle school when she didn't want to go to public school anymore and was ready to start her homeschool journey. Best decision ever and wish I would have just started them both from grade school. Good for you for pulling them out of public school. I have worked in the schools for many years and it is getting harder and harder to try to teach kids with the larger classes and keep them all engaged. Too many kids don't take school seriously and that takes away from the kids who do want to learn. My DIL is a new teacher and she is starting to see what I have been telling her. I pray for the schools but also pray for the ones who want to be able to homeschool to be guided in that direction. All kids learn differently, bless you for doing what is best for your kids with their learning styles. They will be so successful. Remember if the day is a rough day that it is ok to just go out into nature and let the kids soak that up and then get back to the school work the next day if that is what it takes. Nature is a really good place to teach and it doesn't feel like a classroom
CONGRATULATIONS ON THE BEST MOVE YOU COULD EVER MAKE, REGARDING YOUR INVESTMENT IN YOUR CHILDREN!!!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 GREAT JOB ON YOUR PROJECTS, GIRLS!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰
Probably the best decision any parent can make. ❤ I pulled out my kids in 3rd & kinder. They're now both in college. (private christian) The time flies, and it's easier than most people assume, especially with all of the homeschooling resources available now. Early on, I read "A Well-Trained Mind" by Susan Wise Bauer, which convinced me to use the classical education method. I used that as my main homeschooling resource for many years.
I am so happy for your children you two made this decision. I live in the Netherlands and it's not allowed to home school here. The system broke my two daughters, because our vision about how kids should develop (which is comparing to yours) was not compatible with the testing system of school which kids reduces to persons reproducing the asked answers and behaviour. Now my children are young grown-ups. Still so talented, but full of anxiety, low self esteem and doubting if there's a place for them in this world Almost daily I regret I didn't move to another country (which is a big decision ofcourse) where homeschooling was allowed. You are so right by saying the food system is broken but also the school system. Wish your family all the best with exploring this new adventure of healthy education.
This makes me so happy. When the Lord blesses us with children, I hope to be able to homeschool. I’m so skeptical of what the public school system will teach my kids and how they will be treated. I’m so happy for you guys! You are amazing parents 🥰 keep up the great work. Your babies will remember the memories forever.
I’m not judging the teachers heart or motive because that’s for the Lord only but the actions to take her aside and question your decision and ultimately you authority as her parents, sound all the alarms and all the red flags. Happy you made that decision and are at peace with it! We are currently homeschooling our youngest two (5 and 4). I have no advice as I’m barely hanging on because I also work full time but by the grace of God, that will change before next year. Thank you for sharing the curriculum and website you used. I’ll be checking that out for next year!
Yay! You all will do great! We pulled our kids out of the public school I worked at in 2020 and have not looked back!! If you don’t already have a local library card, that is a great resource. Also, September and Co. is a Christian company that has great activities and things for younger kiddos. We love their character trait cards! YWAM has amazing missionary story books we have done as read alouds. I believe they have some easier chapter ones for younger kids that are a little more mild for littles. Looks like you guys have some amazing books already!
Love this! It’s a HUGE ministry and an extension of parenting! We shouldn’t have to justify wanting to educate our children. It’s been so indoctrinating that we feel we have to. I homestead and do Charlotte mason/classical and it’s been so wonderful. I am eclectic though and also use generations which is a ministry through Kevin Swanson. Ambleside online and a gentle feast is great. I have no doubt you are going to THRIVE in this. Take it season by season and based off you’re life because that leaves flexibility to present your formal lessons in the best way for that time. I unschool here and there with life learning and where I’m comfortable depending and make sure formal lessons are intentional. Life is always happening! Sometimes we afternoon school if we have to do heavy garden stuff in the morning. We had a lot of health stuff every year in some capacity it seemed so it reminded me to just remain flexible, give myself grace and allow the Lord to lead each season. Homeschooling is the best decision we ever made and can’t imagine ever going back to public school. So excited for y’all!! Give yourself grace in the growing pains! To involve my husband he leads bible in the evenings, reads the tuttle twin books and takes the kids hunting and scouting and teaches them butchering/processing. You’ll figure it out. 😊
Girl we are in the same level/same books with Ambleside online this year. I am loving these books and so are my kids. We are following the AO schedule exactly and adding Christian Light Education for math, good and beautiful for language arts (using it only for phonics for my youngest learning to read and for grammar and their shared parent/student readings for my oldest) it’s the best! We do map work, nature journal, and book of centuries for geography, history, science and art. We’re using Abeka for cursive and TGATB for typing. Ugh. Best year ever. Best life ever. Thank you Jesus for letting me raise and educate my own babies 🙌🏻
My youngest daughter made the choice to Homeschool & it’s been fantastic for their family. Wonderful online programs available as well. In my opinion it’s a better education & flexible to meet everyone’s needs.
As a previous home schooling mom I recommend finding a homeschool enrichment group in your area. It will help your children meet other homeschoolers so they can have social interactions too.
Public school, from our experience, has only worried about speed and their ratings. From 1st grade up my son has struggled so much in math. One of the issues was, every week they were teaching them a new method for solving the same equation. It was even confusing for me. Before he could even catch on, they were moving to something different. Quizzes were all about how many can you finish in 1 minute not how many of these can you answer correctly. They always made a huge ordeal of these standardized tests to the point kids were stressed. My 9 yr old son had an accident because the teacher wouldn’t let him use the restroom. They have a restroom in their class. In second grade I had my son evaluated for adhd per the teacher’s recommendation, and he was put on medication for it. I’m not saying he doesn’t have it but it made me sick to see how lifeless he was and he couldn’t gain weight no matter how hard I tried. They had a 20 minute lunch where they couldn’t talk to each other and barely had time to eat. They also only had a 15 minute recess, then we’re expected to sit still and shut up for the rest of the day. We’re doing virtual this year for the 4th grade. I’m so happy I’m able to keep him home and help him understand math. He’s also able to step away for a moment, get some fresh air and come back to his work if he’s frustrated. He gets to play outside for hours on end he gets to eat his lunch until he’s full. I’ve been able to take him off of his medication, although there is a lot of redirecting, he’s doing great. He’s a healthy weight now and we’re all so much happier. It does scare me thinking about next year, my daughter is supposed to start kindergarten. Then the year after my youngest will start. I’ll just have to see how each child does, but for now this works for us.
❤ there are so many similarities in our stories. My 2 boys (5th & 2nd) are in public school and I dread everyday that I have to send them. One of my main issues in the financial logistics of homeschooling. When you say your son is doing virtual, is that through the school? Is that a curriculum you have to pay for out of pocket. I’d really love to be able to NOT send my kid to middle school next year! It gives me anxiety to think about! ❤❤❤ Thanks for sharing, by the way!!!!
@@JennaGoforth this program is free through our public school although it’s not actually teachers from there. They have students all over Arkansas in the program. I was honestly just scared trying to figure out a curriculum to use and how we could pay for it. They started offering this program in 2020 when all that mess went down. But it’s called The Virtual Academy at the River
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I think you will be happy as long as the kiddos go along with it.
I homeschooled a grandson that I inherited due to his mother's death while she was pregnant. He was saved, but only weighed 2 lbs. There were lots of trials. It will be 24 years this Nov.
I schooled him until 7th grade, and at that time he wanted to try public school. He says he learned more at home than he ever learned in public school.
I gave up my nursing program to invest in him.
He tells me everyday how thankful he is and how much he loves me.
He is very successful today.
I'm sure your girls will excel at home.
I'll be interested to follow how they like it.
IM SO GLAD you made this video. we have been thinking about it giving the fact our town has already had multiple lock downs and shooting threats. Thanks for sharing that you also decided to home school. I will be showing this to my husband.
Also rhe standardized testing is all the public schools is terrible my kids are already burnt out and they are only in second and third. My youngest is very active and hates being stuck inside and my oldest doesn't like how loud the classrooms get cuz she's more quiet but also we have been really contemplating because of their safety.
If you are even thinking about home schooling I believe that is already what you know in your heart is the right thing to do, the hardest part is making the decision to take them out, we've been homeschooling for 7 years after being in public school for 6 and I have NEVER regret my decision!
I hope you and your husband get the opportunity to homeschool
I'm so glad that you're homeschooling the girls. Public schools today isn't what it used to be when I went to school back in the 80s and 90s. It'd gotten worse since the first school shooting back in 1995 when It'd happened in Jonesboro Arkansas and Columbine High School in Littleton Colorado in 1999. And not to mention that the democrats and liberals have turned our public schools into a drag queen circus. If men wants to parade around in dresses, fine let them but do not expose the children to that kind of smut in our public schools. They're there to get an education, not to be exposed such filth. It's uncalled for. And the boys needs to stay out of the girls bathrooms and do not let them compete in girls athletics. That's just a lawsuit for sexual harassment waiting to happen. So sorry for ranting on but yeah I'm so glad that you're homeschooling your girls. I wholeheartedly believe that they'll do so much better being taught at home by you and Nate than being taught at school. I'd wished I'd homeschooled both of my boys instead of enrolling them in Louisiana public schools. Biggest mistake I'd ever made as their mother. Well I hope they don't hold it against me. Again sorry for ranting on. May God bless you all ♥️ 🙏 much love from Texas ❤🤠
@@lacy454yes, the standardized testing is more frequent now. The learning materials are tied to those tests....but it's not a " working" knowledge. It's more like memory based. Not a thinking/problem solving/ useful based. The funding for school and teachers salaries are often based on the performance on those tests
I was dragged into homeschooling my daughter kicking and screaming--chronic illness is not something the public school system deals well with. It was bumpy for awhile (newbies at the 9th/10th grade mark!!) My best advice--give yourself grace for the first few months; there's no "behind" in homeschooling. It will take awhile to adjust and figure it out. Within a year, you'll realize it's the best decision you ever made and you'll (likely) decide to keep doing it! Good luck!
I’ve been homeschooling for a few years and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done for my children. I pulled my daughter out at 3rd grade and within a month her spirit came back to life. It’s a blessing that I’ve been able to do this. Great books you’re using… I’m going to incorporate some of them. Absolutely loved this.
Good for yall! I homeschooled for several years, and it was such a blessing to our family. We currently do a private school/ homeschool hybrid (2 home, 3 at short day school) and love it. Set realistic expectations, don't feel pressured to recreate "traditional school" at home, and give yourselves and each other grace through the adjustment. There will be tears-- by all, lol-- but it can be such an amazing experience!
Oh my GOSH! I would take this to a higher authority. That behavior of asking if the child WANTS to homeschool(or whatever!), is how children get taken from families via CPS. You owe the school system NO explanation for your decision. I would definitely become a member of HSLDA this year...in case you hear from the public school again. That is not okay. I've been homeschooling for 21 years, and you would not believe the stories I hear about local school overreach in regards to homeschoolers. Some of it is just not knowing the homeschool law...some is definitely more "nefarious". Anywho...lol😂...I'm so excited for you guys! You will love it, and there are lots of homeschooling groups on FB, etc..who are a wealth of knowledge and inspiration. You will ALL do great!! ❤
I was homeschooled growing up and like you didn’t love it but I just missed the social part of public school. I have been subbing this year and while our schools aren’t exactly like you described there I am wanting to pull my kids out and homeschool them even more than I wanted to before. Congratulations on taking that step and thank you for the encouragement!
I have homeschooled from the beginning. I have zero desire to have my kids worry about testing. My kids get to learn at their own pace, one teen is in college courses at age 15, another is dyslexic and neurodivergent and were going at his slower pace. We have been blessed with all the possibilities that homeschool gives us as a family.
I applaud your decision to home school. I retired from teaching 14 years ago. I believe we have gotten wiser in recent years in understanding what's best for kids. If I were a young mother today I would do what you have done.
There is a wonderful podcast Called to Homeschool and it has helped me so much in my homeschool journey with my son. I also love The Good and Beautiful curriculum.
I'll check it out! Thanks for sharing
We homeschool our daughters, as our older sons went thru thr public schools. Best decision we have ever made. My oldeast daughter has Juvenile Rhemotid Arthritis and her treacher (who had my sons and had been teaching for 15 years) told me that she didn't know how to help her. My daughter hands would hurt when it was damp or cold out and she would have trouble writing. I went home from that meeting and told my husband we were pulling her. Never loooked back! Have used many programs love Master Books and The Good and the Beautiful. You are doing the right thing with your daughters. It will take time to find what works for your family I am sure you will do wonderful! We found a wonderful Homeschool that does field trips, usually 1 day a month. That has been a blessing too.
As a public educator, I had to laugh because I get "in trouble" because my kids are rarely at their desk working. I told admin, that the desks just get in the way of learning. Yet I have some of the highest test scores. So they can explain that.
Love this ❤️ thanks for sharing
Jessica at Three Rivers Homestead has homeschooled her children for years. I’m sure she is a great resource.
Good on you. I'm A former public school teacher turned homeschool mom. It's not easy but most things that are worth it take work.
I'm so proud of you for making this choice. I home schooled my Autistic grandson. From second grade until his senior year. He was nonverbal when we started . He requested to ho to school in his senior year. He wanted to walk the stage with others and he did that. Obe of my proudest days .
I have loved you guys since you first helped animal sit for Jess and Miah. I cried when I found out you were going to be taking over their homestead in Arkansas. I was so happy that good people would be stewarding what they started. I am also a public school teacher in NC. I came to this career late, in my mid 30s, and this is my 21st year. I have taught 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. At the beginning of every year there are always preassessments we have to do to determine where students are so that we can create a plan to help them. That may be why students were given videos to view. The teacher was probably doing 1:1 assessments and needed students to remain on task while they worked with individuals. Where I am now, we have a curriculum for math and reading that doesn’t allow for the kinesthetic and naturalistic learning I believe is good for our children. Children do need to be moving around and getting involved in nature. I try to make this better through the field trips we offer our students. I still am not allowed to do what I think is best, but I stay because the children in my neighborhood who have no other choice for education, need me. Above all I preach and teach about being kind to others and showing empathy because we never know what some students may be going through. Not everyone can learn on grade level, but everyone can learn to be nice to each other. Luckily, I live in a rural community. Based on the make up of my class each year, we may talk about what Jesus would do. Every once in a while, we get students from another country, but I can always have them think about what their higher power would want them to do. It is a fine line, but I do it. I understand why you decided to homeschool. I love you guys. Now and always!❤
We've been homeschooling for 7 years, and I have Never regretted my decision to take them out of public school! We also really liked the school they went to, it was the school my husband and I both went to but I knew this was not what I wanted for my family, my son is also very smart but was making horrible grades in school, especially in math, I took him out in 6th grade and within 2 months he was doing high school math at home, you know your children better than anyone and you are the best teacher your children will ever have !
You made the right decision to home school. My sister did homeschooling and it was great. Glad you are teaching cursive as that is very important in signing documents. I know public schools are not teaching cursive anymore. Many blessings on your new adventure with the girls. Looking forward to some updates with the girls. You guys are awesome!
Congratulations on your decision to homeschool! I was a public school educator before deciding to stay home with my littles. We sent my son to kindergarten and he was having panic attacks at drop off! I had always thought about homeschooling but as an extreme "rule follower" and "people pleaser" I was afraid to do it because I didn't know any one else who was doing it and it didn't feel like the "proper" thing to do. But after that kindergarten year, I just wanted to keep my babies close so we decided to homeschool and it was the best decision we've ever made. It is hard! And some days are just plain defeating! But I'm so happy and my kids are so happy with the way things are now.
We also resonate with the Charlotte Mason style of educating and your rhythm and curriculum sound a lot like ours! I think you have a great spread and balance for your kiddos!
My favorite project that we did last year was practicing using a ruler to measure planting beans around a bamboo teepee. The kids had a cool fort for the whole summer and my little 1st grader measured and grew everything himself!
It was a magical first year for us. I hope you all have a blessed first year as well❤
You won’t regret it! Love that y’all made this decision ❤
I’m in a similar boat… last spring, I started feeling like we were on the wrong path. I never expected that we would homeschool but so far, it’s going good! I feel you in the “we don’t know what we are doing yet!” 😂 Thank you for being transparent. Prayers for your family. ❤
Thank you 🙏 and prayers for you
We do Ambleside online also. You landed on a great start! Best advise is to keep your goals flexible. I have changed our school approach a lot over the last 3 years and sometime even half way through the year when things don't sit well. I'm so happy you landed on the Charlot Mason style of education. Your kids will have such happy rich minds!
Yes! Thank you!
Many prayers for your new adventure!
Thank you 🙏
Three Rivers Homestead would be a wonderful resource, she has one starting college
We are a blended family. My two older girls are 27 and 24...my bonus babies are 12 and 14. When my girls went to school (albeit not that long ago) it was different. Now, with Jackson and Addison, it has become a nightmare. Over the last few years they have been exposed to extreme bullying and many more things that have affected their ability to just go to school and learn. Not to mention the uptick in violence/threats of violence in our schools. I too have many opinions on schooling and teachers getting involved where they shouldn't be...but that's for another day! Right now, we do not have much of a choice because we all work full time. I pray for the ability to just bring them home someday, and I pray for you guys and this new journey! 💛
Thank you for acknowledging the privilege of being able to make the decision to homeschool. I appreciate your honesty.
You two got this, homeschooling your kiddos ! I have been homeschooling for 4 years. I pulled my son out of a private school. While there are hard days, homeschooling is the best decision I have ever made for my son. Plus the time with your kids goes so quick. So enjoy the process & allow yourselves some grace in the process.
Congratulations! You won't regret it! We started homeschooling our kids 4th and 5th grades after being in private school all along. Our family is a family of teachers and I know it was hard for them when we made our decision. My kids are now 11th and 12th grades. My biggest advice is to still find ways for them to connect with kids outside of your home....co-op, sports, youth group, etc. My kids are very social and can talk to anyone, child or adult. But, it's the social experiences they miss the most, especially once they're in the high school years. Thankfully they are so integrated in other ways that they still have the opportunity to take part in high school social events that are important to them. Staying in groups outside of the home where they can establish friendships now is important now but even more important as they get older. At least that was our experience. Praise Jesus we're almost through and heading off to college!
Also....my kids have talked about going to school off and on throughout the years. I've told them that choice is theirs and ultimately, they have always decided staying home is a better fit. I pray we did enough and were good enough for them to be successful adults.
Love this, thank you for sharing your story
I sent both my children to public school. Now they are in their 30s. The country and things are definitely different now than they were when my children were young. I’m very proud of you and your husband for taking charge of your children’s lives and trying to make things work. Like you said some people don’t have that luxury and they have to choose public school. The girls look happy and you are at peace with your decision. That’s all that matters. Good video!
Thank you 🙏
Yay! I am so excited for you guys! I am a second generation homeschooler. I have a son in 3rd grade and my daughter in 1st. This year we found a Christian biased co-op and it has been the best decision I have ever made. Every week we get together and the kids have made soooo many friends and I have too! Something I honestly never expected was how wonderful it has been for me. The support, the love, the advice. It makes me cry just thinking about it. Do it!!
You are both doing such a wonderful job. Truly. You realized the problem, you trouble shoot and you address it. You did that!! Please give yourself grace to learn as well throughout this process. You will have good days where everything clicks and then the very next day everything feels so off. But isn't that life? Don't ever make it feel like it is a reflection on you. It definitely isn't. Reading, writing, and math are our daily focus then we tuck in the other topics to round those out and we have a beautiful, learning system and my children are excelling academically and socially. Don't ever fear your parent heart. God will give you what you need through the resources available to us in this free world to do our jobs at the best of our ability. You got this! I am happy for you and will always be in your corner to cheer you on! Wahoo!
So glad you decided to do homeschooling We have been homeschooling our youngest granddaughter from kindergarten. Since her dad and his new flavor of the month wanted her to attend public school, but the school she would attend has a D- rating, and that is not excepted for education. She does attend a Bible based teaching two days a week that is taught by retired teachers that believe what is being taught is lies and mind controlling. She is in third grade now and loves it. Proud of you
I hope you don't make rude remarks about her dad around her. Yikes. 😢
We are in the same boat! Love that you shared this. We have been attending a farm school it’s great for a lot of reasons and allows us flexibility to do more focused work at home. We love Charlotte Mason blended with unschooling approach. We are living in a very different education system and world than when I attended public school in the 90s. There is so much room to be creative with learning (thank you internet). Would love to hear updates on your homeschool journey!
I totally agree!
Congratulations! You guys would probably enjoy the Tuttle Twins books. They're a really great read for any age and teach so much helpful information that's sometimes left out of the public school system. We have all the readers and the two history books, and highly recommend them.
So glad to hear about the home schooling. There are other homesteading families that do the same. Three Rivers Homestead have always home schooled their children and she's expecting #9!! Also, Answers in Genesis has really good curriculum for home schooling families too. Next time let us know, we love to help wherever we can. Hug all three for me, love y'all. You've taught us so much! God bless!
My oldest is autistic and I knew when we started Kindergarten, there was no way he would do well in our public school. We love homeschooling!!! I have grown so much as a parent and even understanding myself better through homeschooling the past almost 2 years. My son loves math, is on his own pace learning to read, and gets to spend everyday with his siblings!
Also, love your guys' disclaimers that you don't want to judge anyone for not homeschooling etc. The homeschooling scene can be very judgmental of traditional school families. And maybe for good reason, because they or their kids were hurt by the traditional school systems.
We love Charlotte Mason! And I agree with being 5/Kindergarten. I let my son wait until 6 to start Kindergarten, and even then I noticed that right around 7 is when his love for sit down work exploded! We love Math With Confidence. Little School of Smiths for US History.
You guys would LOVE Treehouse Schoolhouse Nature Studies!
Good for you! Our school system is totally broken. I helped my daughter-in-law homeschool my two granddaughters We started with pre-school and they both went to college. It was a privilege to be able to enjoy being a grandmother and teacher. We went on field trips and learned so many things together. Thank God for teacher manuals! My DIL attended a conference just for parents discussing homeschool curriculums (each summer). They had classes and vendors where you could check out the different styles and ask questions. Each girl had a different style of learning and Carol was able to discuss this with the curriculum vendor so she could properly choose which curriculum would be best. My granddaughter are now in their mid twenties and we often talk about the experiences we had. There was a lot of social interaction as we belonged to a group of homeschoolers. My one granddaughter took voice lessons and she was in so many plays. The other learned piano and we went to many recitals. It was a wonderful experience and my advice would be to check around and see if a parent could buddy with other parents to create a homeschool community. I can't imagine teaching in a classroom style but I can imagine teaching two or three children at the same time. Hope this helps. Mary Born, ND. Also, besides being able to attend to bodily functions, the girls were able to eat nutritious food and have water whenever they wanted to.
My daughter used the same botany and chemistry books. My granddaughter loved it. You're right there are so many choices of curriculum. Take your time the first year, be willing to make changes if needed. You all will be blessed.❤🙏
I am a second generation homeschooler and although it was my whole schooling career, its a whole new level when it comes to being the teacher and so I feel very much like a newbie as well. I had a great experience with homeschool growing up which has influenced my choice to do it for my own kids. My oldest is in the 1st/2nd grade level and we are using the Charlotte Mason philosophy as well which we love! It sounds like you guys are doing great! Best of luck for the 24/25 school year for you all!
Just graduated my last baby last year from homeschooling! Our first baby went to public school for kindergarten and that was enough to know that type of environment wasn't for us! Give yourself grace and don't make it harder than it needs to be knowing you've already taught them the hard stuff- how to walk, talk, eat and use the restroom! Homeschooling is life schooling! Blend it in naturally and enjoy every moment! It goes by so fast! So happy you are on this adventure of making memories while learning through life. From one homeschool 24/7 together family to another (local to you btw) THE DAYS ARE LONG BUT THE YEARS ARE SO SHORT... enjoy it all!
Y’all are so full of Grace and so strong and encouraging. I truly admire you ❤🙌🏻✝️🕊️
Thank you for your kind words ❤️
“I cannot in good conscious put my kids in our public school system knowing it goes against everything we teach at home”
This part got me emotional. We just enrolled our kids in public school for the first time after homeschooling last year. Homeschooling was always the plan, then I made a really quick rash decision to put them in school just a few weeks before school started. We are in the process of pulling them out now. Thank you for sharing your story. This made me feel not as guilty for enrolling them and quickly pulling them out.
Congratulations on coming to a satisfactory solution for your kids. I’m sure this will work fine, and they will love it.
We are also homeschooling for the first time this year (5th, 3rd plus a preschooler and toddler at home) using a Charlotte Mason curriculum called the Alveary. Our kids were in a great Montessori school and people thought we were crazy for pulling them, but the more that the kids share about school that they hadn't shared before the happier I am that we pulled them. Way to go making the hard decision. You aren't alone 😊
I’m so thankful and happy for you!!!❤❤🎉🎉🎉🎉 my word I’ve always wondered why you didn’t and knew this was exactly where you would end up! So proud of you!😍😍❤️❤️
We use mostly Master books! I'm so happy for your family!
We just started the Yellow book in Learning Language Through Literature. This is our first year using this program and we are loving it.
Love you guys, and you are absolutely making the right decision. I was a single mom. I didn't have this choice. But if I did I absolutely would have home schooled my children and I could have as I have a degree. I totally wish that. I could have home school. My grandchildren, but my kids are not of that mindset as they went to public school.
Yay!!! How exciting!! You will be fine, it can be challenging but so worth it. Once you get in your own rhythm and see the difference it makes, you will not want to have it any other way. We started in 2020. Good luck to you!preach it sister!❤
Yes! Thank you!
I applaud you, for your decision. I am glad that you are the parents who prioritize your children. Bravo ❤
Thank you so much!
Best choice you ever made i think. Will be Praying for your family. You both can do it. We all have good/bad days and so do kids even babies. Keep on doing what your doing, its great !❤
The kids look so happy and so do you all! Good job guys! The only thing that popped into my mind is using my father’s world curriculum. It’s charlotte mason based. They have synergy guides to make it so all ages are doing the same curriculum for a bulk of the day then older kids switch for math or spelling or whatever and the younger kids do to.
And they have stuff for real littles as well.
We are also kind of CM but nature school on Fridays and we love the heart of Dakota. The first half of the year is Bible history and the second half is American history and they’re all super fun picture books have a five year old and we’re new to homeschooling too!
omg this just makes me want to cry for those kids. I'm praying for your journey getting started with this. We don't have kids yet, but when we do this is definitely something we have considered. Thank you for sharing this ❤ you guys are both doing amazing and much such great leaders for your 3 kiddos
Thank you so much!
Congratulations! You will fall into a routine before you know it. We always kept a short record of what we did each day just in case any questions should ever arise. This also gave us a count of how many days it took us to do the year. 😊 I know everything is different from state to state.
I’m just wrapping you in my thoughts with hugs and love. What a gift you have given your family.
Thank you so much!
We have been using apologia for science also and math. My middle daughter is a hands on learner and is in 3rd grade. Masterbooks is a great place to start for new homeschooling, and it is very Charlotte Mason style. We use not grass history. If you have a struggling reader or with dyslexia All About Reading and All About Spelling is amazing! Another great place to get unit studies is Gather Round Homeschool.
Thanks for sharing!!
As an educator my philosophy is “ Play = Learning “ from pre-k through adulthood. If we think about it when we are expected to sit behind a table/ desk it is hard to keep my attention, but if learning is fun we excel! Good for you!
It's lovely to see the kids happy , wish wee had home schooling growing up , I hated school , just look how happy your kids are , yous are amazing parents , hope all works out , 😊 xx
Congrats on making the leap in to homeschooling. Covid started our journey!! Hugs to all of you
❤ My husband and daughter are teachers in public/private schools, but I LOVE the idea of homeschooling! During the school year and over summers I led homeschool on top of public school making mornings about animal/plant husbandry, book work afterwards, cater to the weather and opportunities each day - free museum day, at least one day trip every week - Charlie loves to cook so math is easily put into recipes and June is creative so remember to build art into her learning! ❤❤❤
Thanks for sharing!!
Fellow homeschooling mama here🤚 Congratulations! My eldest is an adult. My advice is to prioritize relationships. Also, kids under 8 don't need formal lessons. Lot's of what you're doing is the way! Plenty fo outdoor time in nature, read alouds, time with mom and dad, exploration. The curriculum will never matter. They will only remember how they felt. Relationships over all.
Keeping this noted 🙏
We have been homeschooling since 2012. Our oldest was completely homeschooled until last year. We all knew college wasnt going to be his thing, so his Junior year of HS we decided to let him go to the county trade school. He only does the trade classes, then finishes up his other lessons with us. May God Bless you on your journey ❤
🥲🙏🏻 I’ve been praying for both you and Jess for the longest time. 💞As your businesses soared, I watched both of you hand your children to other people for them to teach while you created content to teach others. My heart hurt. ❤️🩹😢
I prayed that both of you would come back to center 🧘🏼♀️and place your children in the center of your focus and energy. 🧘🏼♀️🙏🏻🫶🏻💖
💞Childhood passes so quickly. You are both extremely successful and everyone benefits from your knowledge.
That said, your children miss out on the best of you when you’re selling yourself to others instead of giving the best to your children. 🤗🫶🏻💖🙏🏻🧘🏼♀️🍎📕📚👩🏼🏫
Congrats family. I myself pulled out 9 yr old son out in January of this year and we “deschooled” and are starting our first year of homeschooling. I just keep telling myself and my son I’m learning and we can learning together n it’s deff been one day at a time, I feel I’m all over the place and slowly getting there. We researched and ended up trying out the BJU press homeschooling online and I help teach along with his online program. It’s a Christian based program which is what I wanted. Public schools here where I’m at in FL have gotten sick and out of control and this year alone so far is so bad so I’m so glad we listened and researched and took the leap to try this out with our last child :) best of luck to you all and me 😉😉💪🏼💪🏼🙏🙏🙏 we got this
Congratulations! We are in our 5th year of homeschooling. My children had attended private Christian school prior to starting our homeschool journey. We gravitate towards the Charlotte Mason style learning as well. It is more in line with how we learn as adults. Never in my adult life have I opened a text book and then taken a test to demonstrate mastery. Now that said, my son is in 8th grade and taking Algebra with integrated geometry and there are quizzes and exams. In junior high we did add science tests to our Apologia science. We have a lot of discussions and spend much of our day reading. Once they hit 6th grade my children start writing papers weekly. In seventh grade they write their first research paper and this year we have added writing responses to literature. All this is to prepare them for career and possibly college, should they make that choice. We use Sonlight and it has been a great fit for our family. The language arts follows the same philosophy as Learning Language Arts Through Literature. We take each year as it comes. This year we added co-op (well more like tutor based learning taught by professionals). Both of my children take art taught by an artist and my son is in robotics, which is taught by an engineer. Customizing learning based on their skills and interests, focusing on mastering concepts before moving to the next concept, and having a natural learning environment that focuses on Christ, character, and life skills are our primary reasons for homeschooling.
Haven't looked through any of the other comments to see if anyone else has suggested it, but I have just started kindergarten with Gentle and Classical for my oldest, using their Primer curriculum, and we're really enjoying it. Two others I seriously considered were Gather Round's preschool / kindergarten options, and also My Father's World's kindergarten. I may still switch over to My Father's World sometime in the future, but for now I'm really liking the richness of the Gentle and Classical curriculum
Oh how cool on the Botany I have preacher been connecting the science and Bible so fascinating and biblical nutrition would be cool would want it for myself lol
For some reason I thought you’d homeschooled before! We’ve been homeschooling the last five years too… 4th and 1st grade this year. It’s NOT EASY but best decision EVER. We do the Charlotte Mason style as well, our curriculum is the Good and the Beautiful.
❤homeschooling!! We are now in our 15th year homeschooling, have graduated one with four more to go. It's not always sunshine and roses but I wouldn't trade a single minute of it. Spending this time with our kids has been our best decision ever. We are very eclectic and live on a farm, so lots of outdoor learning going on here🐮🐔🐏🍎🍇🍓
AMEN!!! You made such an amazing decision! I am a homeschool mom of 14 years so far and I will never send them back for all the reasons you mentioned and more!! The school system is NOT for our kids!!!
We were thinking about homeschooling back before Covid happened. Covid gave us the push we needed to get started and we’ve not looked back! It has brought us as a family closer together ❤ It’ll be challenging, but it’s SO worth it!
I think you did a great job explaining how you came to the decision you did.
Thank you 😊
Thanks for sharing this very helpful I just never knee all this was out there just never know where to start!!
Homeschooled all 3 of our kids, and two out of the three went to college. We don't regret at all and would do again.
I am so happy to hear you are homeschooling! I have homeschooled my grandson going on 5 years now. It’s the best decision we’ve made. We do a Christian based curriculum and love it! I also take him to a homeschool co-op at our church every Friday. I’ve been able to teach classes for art, sewing, gardening, botany, and first aid. It’s been a true blessing for us both. Hang in there! You will always have good days and bad days, but everyday will be full of love, faith, and family, building strong bonds with each other.
Love this, thanks for sharing
Good for you!! I wish I could have had the opportunity to homeschool my kiddos. In today’s world I definitely would!! Kudos to you!!
Thank you so much!
Loved this conversation.. hope you all have a great school year😊
Hey y'all, CONGRATULATIONS on making a decision!!! Public school worked fine for me because I was very smart I was an A student all my life and I even skipped the second grade. Now my son was very smart but had such little confidence and he was an absolute perfectionist and would tear up papers because of a mistake rather than erase it because people could still see the mistake was there. We knew he needed to go to a Baptist school starting from Kindergarten.
The number one item on the school supply lists for every single grade was a King James Bible. This is what they learned to read from. They taught phonics which I had a worked for me. By the second grade all these kids were reading sentences like according to the scriptures by using phonics. President Bush was on TV spouting how He wanted every kid to be able to read see spot run by the third grade and that was a joke to me. The very first lesson to learn was personal responsibility. No one in the public school has ever heard of this idea, wow what a concept, editorial comment. They were still trying to figure out how apes evolved from human beings and worms evolved from birds ect.
Every person and family will need to do what is best for every single kid. Brother and sisters may need different tools and lesson plans. So for all y'all still making decisions just pray about it and listen for answers look for clues. If your child's best interests and God's will being followed all will go well. God bless all our school children esp the ones that are struggling.
Jill I homeschooled my daughter through graduation. If you have any questions or want some fun ideas for the girls let me know.
I didn't know you were homeschooled. You are going to be amazing at this part of your journey
You’re such great parents! You know your kids best ❤ I feel public school teaches kids to be a cog in the wheel instead of free thinkers. If I had it to do over I would have homeschooled from the beginning ❤
So true!
Please continue share videos about homeschooling and how you are managing schedules with a business, school and homemaking PLUS also running a farm. I am in that situation and struggling to meet all those needs.
So EXCITED for you guys! I was honestly surprised that you guys weren't already homeschooling because I could just see you guys doing it. I think in one video, I did see a clip or something of one of the girls at their nature school, and I was like, oh yeah, I can see that too! I homeschool my 2 wild men, and yes, while there are hard days, it is soo worth it! Thank you for doing this video, and reminding me why I chose to do this also! Big hugs, and high fives to you guys and your new adventures!❤
A Gentle Feast is a great comprehensive curriculum that coordinates multiple grades. She provides book lists for each subject.
I have littles so I like doing school work with meals and snacks to keep everybody’s mouths and bodies busy and focused!
The good and the beautiful has worked for my family! My kids are doing so well using the curriculum.
We decided to pull our daughter after the 5th grade from public.she was being bullied and getting in trouble because she wasn't getting her energy out. She wasnt also being challeneged. So we decided online homeschooling and we had her skip a grade and she's doing amazing.
I homeschooled both of our kids through there highschool years and My daughter started in Middle school when she didn't want to go to public school anymore and was ready to start her homeschool journey. Best decision ever and wish I would have just started them both from grade school. Good for you for pulling them out of public school. I have worked in the schools for many years and it is getting harder and harder to try to teach kids with the larger classes and keep them all engaged. Too many kids don't take school seriously and that takes away from the kids who do want to learn. My DIL is a new teacher and she is starting to see what I have been telling her. I pray for the schools but also pray for the ones who want to be able to homeschool to be guided in that direction. All kids learn differently, bless you for doing what is best for your kids with their learning styles. They will be so successful. Remember if the day is a rough day that it is ok to just go out into nature and let the kids soak that up and then get back to the school work the next day if that is what it takes. Nature is a really good place to teach and it doesn't feel like a classroom
Thank you for sharing and I love the last part about getting into nature if things get crazy
CONGRATULATIONS ON THE BEST MOVE YOU COULD EVER MAKE, REGARDING YOUR INVESTMENT IN YOUR CHILDREN!!!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 GREAT JOB ON YOUR PROJECTS, GIRLS!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰
Teaching Textbooks has worked well for my girls. We love the paper books 📖
Probably the best decision any parent can make. ❤ I pulled out my kids in 3rd & kinder. They're now both in college. (private christian) The time flies, and it's easier than most people assume, especially with all of the homeschooling resources available now. Early on, I read "A Well-Trained Mind" by Susan Wise Bauer, which convinced me to use the classical education method. I used that as my main homeschooling resource for many years.
I am so happy for your children you two made this decision. I live in the Netherlands and it's not allowed to home school here. The system broke my two daughters, because our vision about how kids should develop (which is comparing to yours) was not compatible with the testing system of school which kids reduces to persons reproducing the asked answers and behaviour. Now my children are young grown-ups. Still so talented, but full of anxiety, low self esteem and doubting if there's a place for them in this world
Almost daily I regret I didn't move to another country (which is a big decision ofcourse) where homeschooling was allowed.
You are so right by saying the food system is broken but also the school system.
Wish your family all the best with exploring this new adventure of healthy education.
SOOOOOO agree with 💯 of what you said! We pulled ours out this year also!
This makes me so happy. When the Lord blesses us with children, I hope to be able to homeschool. I’m so skeptical of what the public school system will teach my kids and how they will be treated. I’m so happy for you guys! You are amazing parents 🥰 keep up the great work. Your babies will remember the memories forever.
I’m not judging the teachers heart or motive because that’s for the Lord only but the actions to take her aside and question your decision and ultimately you authority as her parents, sound all the alarms and all the red flags. Happy you made that decision and are at peace with it! We are currently homeschooling our youngest two (5 and 4). I have no advice as I’m barely hanging on because I also work full time but by the grace of God, that will change before next year. Thank you for sharing the curriculum and website you used. I’ll be checking that out for next year!
Yay! You all will do great! We pulled our kids out of the public school I worked at in 2020 and have not looked back!! If you don’t already have a local library card, that is a great resource. Also, September and Co. is a Christian company that has great activities and things for younger kiddos. We love their character trait cards! YWAM has amazing missionary story books we have done as read alouds. I believe they have some easier chapter ones for younger kids that are a little more mild for littles. Looks like you guys have some amazing books already!
Nailed you as a Charlotte mason mama from a mile away 😉
Same 😂 (as a Charlotte Mason mama myself)
Love this! It’s a HUGE ministry and an extension of parenting! We shouldn’t have to justify wanting to educate our children. It’s been so indoctrinating that we feel we have to. I homestead and do Charlotte mason/classical and it’s been so wonderful. I am eclectic though and also use generations which is a ministry through Kevin Swanson. Ambleside online and a gentle feast is great. I have no doubt you are going to THRIVE in this. Take it season by season and based off you’re life because that leaves flexibility to present your formal lessons in the best way for that time. I unschool here and there with life learning and where I’m comfortable depending and make sure formal lessons are intentional. Life is always happening! Sometimes we afternoon school if we have to do heavy garden stuff in the morning. We had a lot of health stuff every year in some capacity it seemed so it reminded me to just remain flexible, give myself grace and allow the Lord to lead each season. Homeschooling is the best decision we ever made and can’t imagine ever going back to public school. So excited for y’all!! Give yourself grace in the growing pains! To involve my husband he leads bible in the evenings, reads the tuttle twin books and takes the kids hunting and scouting and teaches them butchering/processing. You’ll figure it out. 😊
Girl we are in the same level/same books with Ambleside online this year. I am loving these books and so are my kids. We are following the AO schedule exactly and adding Christian Light Education for math, good and beautiful for language arts (using it only for phonics for my youngest learning to read and for grammar and their shared parent/student readings for my oldest) it’s the best! We do map work, nature journal, and book of centuries for geography, history, science and art. We’re using Abeka for cursive and TGATB for typing. Ugh. Best year ever. Best life ever. Thank you Jesus for letting me raise and educate my own babies 🙌🏻
Amen to that!
My youngest daughter made the choice to Homeschool & it’s been fantastic for their family. Wonderful online programs available as well. In my opinion it’s a better education & flexible to meet everyone’s needs.
As a previous home schooling mom I recommend finding a homeschool enrichment group in your area. It will help your children meet other homeschoolers so they can have social interactions too.
Public school, from our experience, has only worried about speed and their ratings. From 1st grade up my son has struggled so much in math. One of the issues was, every week they were teaching them a new method for solving the same equation. It was even confusing for me. Before he could even catch on, they were moving to something different. Quizzes were all about how many can you finish in 1 minute not how many of these can you answer correctly. They always made a huge ordeal of these standardized tests to the point kids were stressed. My 9 yr old son had an accident because the teacher wouldn’t let him use the restroom. They have a restroom in their class. In second grade I had my son evaluated for adhd per the teacher’s recommendation, and he was put on medication for it. I’m not saying he doesn’t have it but it made me sick to see how lifeless he was and he couldn’t gain weight no matter how hard I tried. They had a 20 minute lunch where they couldn’t talk to each other and barely had time to eat. They also only had a 15 minute recess, then we’re expected to sit still and shut up for the rest of the day. We’re doing virtual this year for the 4th grade. I’m so happy I’m able to keep him home and help him understand math. He’s also able to step away for a moment, get some fresh air and come back to his work if he’s frustrated. He gets to play outside for hours on end he gets to eat his lunch until he’s full. I’ve been able to take him off of his medication, although there is a lot of redirecting, he’s doing great. He’s a healthy weight now and we’re all so much happier. It does scare me thinking about next year, my daughter is supposed to start kindergarten. Then the year after my youngest will start. I’ll just have to see how each child does, but for now this works for us.
❤ there are so many similarities in our stories. My 2 boys (5th & 2nd) are in public school and I dread everyday that I have to send them. One of my main issues in the financial logistics of homeschooling. When you say your son is doing virtual, is that through the school? Is that a curriculum you have to pay for out of pocket. I’d really love to be able to NOT send my kid to middle school next year! It gives me anxiety to think about! ❤❤❤ Thanks for sharing, by the way!!!!
@@JennaGoforth this program is free through our public school although it’s not actually teachers from there. They have students all over Arkansas in the program. I was honestly just scared trying to figure out a curriculum to use and how we could pay for it. They started offering this program in 2020 when all that mess went down. But it’s called The Virtual Academy at the River