The Plunge

I finally took the plunge and ordered Bella's preschool curriculum. To teach. At home. Myself.

oh boy....

When I think about it I am excited, and nervous, and scared, and happy. And I have no idea what I am doing. Not yet, anyway. From what I've gathered reading and talking to others, that's pretty much the way all homeschoolers start out.

Once I really got interested in it and asked around, I met so many families that homeschool! It's really a lot more widespread than I realized. I met with a homeschooling group that has over 150 families from the Tri-cities. A friend introduced me to a mother of five who homeschools, and who made time in her busy morning to have me over to her house for a homeschool chat. I have two cousins (on in Johnson City and one in California!) who homeschool a total of five children. Talking to all these people has been wonderful.

And my husband got me a stack of books from the library on the subject and I perused them this past weekend on a road trip. (The only time I have to "peruse" anything anymore is when both the kids are strapped in carseats!)

The main gist of it seems to be: follow the legal guidelines, learn as you go, and adapt the curriculum to fit your children and your lifestyle. For us that will mean (eventually) a four-day schoolweek.

Then there are curriculums. Mother of pearl! Just google "homeschool curriculums"- there is a plethora of them! I looked at and read reviews for several, and ended up choosing Bob Jones University's "Thresholds for Threes". I haven't got to completely review it yet, 'cause there's a lot of material, but it looks like it will be wonderful. Of course, at this level a curriculum isn't really necessary. It's more for me at this point than for her. Since it's my first experience with this, I wanted something to go by.

So I'm going to use this summer for research and familiarize myself with the curriculum. Then in the fall we will ease into lessons at home, as well as begin lessons with the homeschool group I'm joining- Bella will take 2 or 3 hours of classes with children her age every Friday.

Ever feel like you may be biting off more than you can chew? Me too, but let me tell you a little secret: its okay as long as it is something good!