My family has made a big decision since I last posted.
Danny and I decided to homeschool our oldest daughter this year. This decision came after much concern, prayer, and anxiety. We knew this year was going to be a tough one for her. She is, after all, repeating kindergarten in order to get her on the right track in school.
At age two, E basically entered pre-school one year early, and since her birthday is only one week away from the kindergarten cut-off, she entered kindergarten one year early, as well. She stuck out kindergarten last year at our neighborhood elementary school. E's outstanding teacher and loving group of friends made a year that could have been tough, since she was basically a year younger than everyone else, a success.
After last year, we decided to hold her back a year, to get her on track to enter first grade as a six year old, not a young five year old. It was an extremely difficult choice. So knowing all that, this year was going to be a little strange, no matter what. Our decision to homeschool for this year came as a result of a repeated kindergarten experience, that for whatever reason, just wasn't working.
After much heartache, tears, and restless nights, I had an epiphany one morning of deep prayer. After multiple friends approached me with the encouragement to homeschool, I felt a weight had been lifted. Then, my mom called me with information about a local charter school that cropped up this year that is an actual home school academy. A superstar of a teacher designs lessons, workshops, tutorials, and also guides the kids through tons of hands-on, inquiry-based science projects. It was a win-win! I pulled E out of her repeat kindergarten class only hours after the decision had been made.
E has made the transition beautifully. We are wrapping up our second week of homeschool, and E is blossoming with this new schedule. I added an art class, children's choir practice, and a dance class to her already "after school" activities. She now has the opportunity to hang out with her friends three times during the week.
I am so grateful for the help and support of my family and friends throughout this process. To every person who has maintained a positive voice for me and my family, I so appreciate you! For the negative voices, I thank you, too, because your input made me think through the negative side of homeschooling. I am sincerely trying my best to not let E fall into a homebody coma.
I have been blessed by wonderful Christian friends who have listened to me, prayed with me, and have let me cry when I've been beside myself with emotion! The amazing thing about this whole experience is that I have finally felt what it feels like to truly know God's will. I prayed on this for weeks, and asked God to please show me His will, and He did! When I said in my prayer that I would follow His will, no matter what it was, the next day, I had my answer, as clear as day. God had spoken, and oh, what a sense of peace I felt!
