Wow. Has it only been two weeks since we made the change?

It really does seem like we've been doing this for a while. The one big thing I'm figuring out is that we don't have a set school day. Sure, we start at 8:30 am, and try to do all our core classes in the morning, but over all we teach/learn/experience life, the world around us, and our lessons to all day long. It's kinda a different way of thinking for us. We have always been set routine people. We have always followed our chaotic schedule like clockwork. Living the life we now live, breaks the mold. It takes everything I hold near and dear (Time, schedules, lists) and throws them out the window. It's teaching us to live in the here and now. It's showing us that like a newborn baby, it simply hasn't read the schedule we carefully researched and laid out for her. It's saying "Walk with me, I'll show you a life you never thought possible.... never dared to dream you could live." And I must confess, so far I LIKE IT! I like this life that breaks free from the boundaries of time and constraints. I like that if Brielle's having a rough day and cant handle Language Arts in the morning we can move to something else and come back to it later. I like to see my big strong husband, our provider, say his brain hurts from helping Cailynn with a 30 minute "Live Lesson" on the words that start with "P"! I feel that now that we've broken out of the "mold" we were being poured into, now that we've "unconformed" and started the life we feel called to, we are being liberated.

Dont' get me wrong, I had visions. I had goals. I had ideas. I had DREAMS of how this was going to go (get up, get dressed, make your beds, eat breakfast, get started at 8:30, do the calendar time, start lessons and work diligently until 12:30 where we would then break for lunch, have "gym" and "Art" and all sorts of other fun adventures (library time, zoo time, science center time) all in the umbrella of "SCHOOL"! I was so wrong.  We are rarely done by 12:30. In fact as we "speak", it's 2:20 and Brielle is working on her spelling words. I had visions of all the time "wasted" in the B&M school, and how I could somehow do it "better". Time management is something I'm good at. It's something I excel at, and its something that my kids just seem to laugh at.

So the breakdown for the second week of school coming to an end (we started Thursday 2/15). We are getting in a grove. The multiple books no longer send us into cold sweats thinking about it. The thought that we might be warping our kids and they'll fall behind is slowly fading. This new norm is fun, it's exciting, its liberating, and we are learning right along side our kids. So right now I'm feeling like "well yes, Yes, YES we CAN have it all!" 

We are surviving and even getting the hang of this!

After 3 days, we are finally figuring out a semblance of a routine. Our days start bright and early and the girls are sitting at their desks/tables doing lessons at 8:30 am. The neat thing about the curriculum/program we chose is that everything is laid out for us. The bad thing is that nothing has arrived yet! Talk about flying solo/in the dark. While alot of the stuff is available online, navigating without the workbooks or text books has been "fun" to say the least! Hurry up and arrive curriculum!

D and E are doing amazingly well adjusting to the change in their routine. B and C are loving being home and doing what they are calling "home school" and mommy and daddy are keeping our heads above water for the time being!

Thanks for all the prayers and support.

Dawn

Starting a New Adventure

It's been so long since I've posted on our blog that I felt guilty even posting there. We are starting a new Adventure, so I felt it was only fitting that we start our new adventure with a Fresh Start!

After alot of thought, deliberation and Prayer.... We decided that we wanted, actually needed to try something new with the Girls and their Education. We did alot of research, we compared alot of programs. We even did quite a bit of worrying.  Let me tell you, when God tells you to move, he means MOVE!

Shortly after Ashley started her second semester of College, which she is doing amazingly well at. Shortly after Eden had her surgery for the T & A after her diagnosis of PFAPA (an explanation for another post). We felt called to change up the girls schooling. We felt that at this time, we needed to pull the girls out of their traditional schooling and enroll them in an online Charter School.

Don't misunderstand, we did not have an issue with the girls teachers. We weren't unhappy with the people they were in trusted to. We simply felt that God was putting situations in front of us that showed us that this was the way he wanted us to take the girls and their education. There were many reasons that we felt lead this way, but bottom line was that we wanted to enable the girls to have their childhood back. We wanted the evenings to be free to do clubs, sports, and be kids. We wanted more input and more teamwork when it came to teaching the girls and what they would be learning. We wanted to listen to God and do what he asked us to do.

Last Wednesday was their last day at HM. It was sad, it was scary, and it was liberating. Last Thursday was their first day at OCA. It was exciting, it was scary, and it was liberating. We have never been so afraid since we brought them home from the hospital. Thursday was rough (their supplies and books haven't arrived yet). Friday was "easier", we were learning, we were figuring out what we needed to do.

Tomorrow starts the first day of the rest of their lives. Tomorrow we start in earnest.  The girls are excited, we are excited, and for the first time in years... I am not dreading having to send them to school tomorrow. I am excited to get up early (yes, me... an "NOT" morning person).... and fix them breakfast and start their day!

Pray for us, pray with us, and by all means message us if you have any tips to make this transition easier, or advice for setting up our days!

Love and Prayers,

Dawn
Mom to 5 beautiful Girls!