Hello - new here and still deciding...

[MidwestMama]

Hi everyone! I'm Cris, and just chiming in here for the first time.

We have a 5.5 year old DS. He's scheduled to start kindergarten in the fall. We tried a *very* brief homeschooling endeavor at the beginning of this past school year. Basically, it didn't feel right and I think I wasn't ready to commit... and so DS went back to preschool. He's in a good Christian school so I knew he was in a good place while we worked out some decisions!!

Lately... we have been looking at all of our school options, and boy, just not a lot of good ones out there. I'm really feeling the urge to homeschool again and I think it *would* be a good fit for our family if I gave it a chance!! (DS is pretty ahead academically and his idea of a good time is reading the atlas, LOL!!) We jumped through hoops to get into a great ps district, so we kind of feel like we should give that a chance, though, too, although I have my reservations. We have an option to send DS to half-day kindergarten, so the situation is that we know we're going to homeschool at least in part; the question is whether we're going to ONLY homeschool, or whether we're going to homeschool in large part plus send DS to a half day K program, just to compare the two and sort of experiment in both worlds. Does that make sense??

Anyway, I'm very drawn to using "Beyond" next year as it looks like a great curriculum... challenging, adaptable, gentle. All things we're looking for!! So for the time being, i just wanted to come hang out here, hear others' experiences, and get to know some of you. Looking forward to it!!

Cris

[Amey]

Hi Cris

Welcome to the group! I'm Amey, mom to three boys. I just finished our kindergarten year with my soon to be six year old and it went great. I will be using Little Hearts with him for 1st grade and his (soon to be 4) year old brother will tag along with us..listening to the reading, doing the activities and crafts etc. Anyway, I pray that the Lord will speak clearly to you about His will for your little guy and his schooling situation. This is a great group of ladies to glean from! Look forward to getting to know you!

[Kathleen]

Hi Cris! Welcome from a fellow "midwesterner". I grew up in Iowa and live in Kansas.

We have gone back and forth in our schooling journey, too. I did pre-K with my oldest at home. Then after praying about it, we felt that God was leading us to send our oldest to a little Christian school for K...and then 1st. We were also sure that we would homeschool again...and that happened this year for his 2nd grade year. He had K 3 days a week...which was ok. But 1st grade all day every day didn't work for our family. (But with my mom having terminal cancer that year...it was still God's plan for us without being able to forsee it.) Anyway, we LOVE homeshcooling...and would have loved it even more if I'd found HOD before this year. But even though I didn't make curriculum choices that we like...and were too tedious and time-consuming...I LOVE homeshcooling, and my son does, and his brother and sister love having him home, and we get to eat lunch with Daddy! I'm not saying that homeschooling is definitely for you right now, but it is definitely worth the extra effort and time that you'll have to put forth....and the extra messes that you'll have to clean up. (Did I mention that I've also had a very creative 3 yo playing with her 1 yo brother during "school time" with the oldest. )

I don't know if you can really get a feel for homeschooling if you're doing it along with school. In my mind a 5 yo who has been in school all morning, won't really be ready to do "school" all afternoon. I guess it would give you a feel for being the teacher, but I'd definitely keep in mind that you won't have a "fresh" student. If you do this, I'd also highly suggest doing Little Hearts for His Glory...or even Little Hands to Heaven to keep from overwhelming him. Many moms here use LHFHG for "1st grade", so don't be afraid that it won't be "enough". If you think you may jump in a homeschool only and he places in Beyond on the placement chart, then I'd go for it.

Sorry this got long...and I wish you God's wisdom as you and your hubby seek God's guidance. It's a big decision!
Kathleen