I am a Home Schooling Mommy!

Yes I home school my 4 (soon to be 5) year old. I have an older child who also goes to public school which prior to public school he was home schooled as well. School year technically does not start for Kindergarten here until the 27th of this month. This Friday. We started our home schooling yesterday. I decided to share my excitement with all of my friends on Facebook yesterday just like I did about my oldest son's first day back to school Friday last week. Did I get as warm of a response when I did this? No! I was informed how I am not a certified teacher so I can not home school my child. Then was informed that home school children do not get the socialization that other children get and how I would be doing my child wrong no matter how smart he is.

I said I then posted another post up not even directed to this one person who bashed me for home schooling. It simply stated that if someone does not like my post just simply not read it. That I was home schooled before and if you are calling home schooled children socially retarded then you are calling me socially retarded. This same person proceeded to attack me on that post telling me I am socially retarded if that's what I got from what SHE was saying. As if this world revolves around just her words. Hello!!! There are more people than just you with a negative comment towards me about my child being home schooled and about myself being home schooled. The world doesn't revolve around you. Even though we all know you probably wish it would.

I also was called a fool and told I am a liar, because I said no by my states law I DO NOT have to be certified to home school my child. I don't even have to be registered with the DOE until his 7th birthday. She had removed me from her friends before I could remove her so I sent her an email and informed her I have already talked to my state DOE and our parish school board office. I informed her I know what my states home schooling laws are better than she does considering she is in Mass which is north east. I am in the south! Her state doesn't even require certification! It even states in their home schooling laws that the state can not require certification. In some states only qualification a parent may have to have is a high school diploma or a GED. If you are a teacher you have to have a certification.

Well I blocked her after the email letting her know I know what I am talking about I am not just jumping head first into it not knowing what I am doing or supposed to do. I get on my Facebook this morning and click to check replies. I go to two replies on my post that this woman had gone off on me on to see her sister (who is on my friends) has now commented bashing me for home schooling. I was informed I am no teacher and have no right to home school my child. Last I checked I have rights as a parent and an American. I have rights to do what I want when it comes to my children as long as it is not hurting or harming them. My children are taken care of and are extremely smart. My 4 yr old knows how to use a computer! He knows how to get to his games (all educational) and he can operate them just fine on his own. My children are fed, clothed, clean, have a nice home they live in, provided with their needs when it comes to school and other wise. They have toys and everything a child should have to be able to let their imagination grow. My son yesterday sat down with me for 25 mins and done his Language Arts, Math and Health. Then he did games teaching him more about colors, shapes and stuff like that. Yet I have no business home schooling my own son? I guess these people think no one who home schools has the business to do so, because it is not a public school setting.

The way I see it is like this. School is learning time not social time. A child can be social outside of learning. That is why we have stuff like Boy Scouts, 4-H, Sports and such. If your too lazy as the parent to get your child out to social things then I am sorry that is your fault not mine. My children do VBS (this summer we didn't get to due to me being off my leg from a torn tendon in my knee) and my oldest is looking forward to trying out for Soccer this fall (if he still wants to do so). My youngest plays with other kids his age and older than him. We go to the library and there are always other children there for story time and other activities they do at our local library. Just because a child learns at home does not mean that they don't get to be social. It doesn't mean that the parents shouldn't be teaching them if they are not certified teachers. People need to educate before they start screaming Liar and Fool at people. This really shows your true IQ and maturity level.

RIP Kathy

My Mother in law passed away yesterday morning around 7 am. I wish I had more time to have gotten to know her more than we had, but I am thankful for the chance to have met her. I am thankful for the fact my husband did get to meet his mom and see her the two times he did, before she passed away. I am thankful that my children got to meet their grandmother. It is hard to think that when we go back to Texas to visit Grandpa Don and Uncle Lenny that Grandma Kathy won't be there in her recliner laughing and smiling while she watches the kids play and run around being loud. There are memories of her in every inch of that house not only for us, but for her husband and oldest son.

From the stories we have heard about her she was a hard working lady who worked for her children. Due to some crazy stuff she had to leave my husband and his brother behind, but worked hard to bring them to where she was. Due to a lot of things that never happened. I found her via the internet (I found her sister in law who gave me her phone number) and we had the chance to meet her this summer. We only were able to go down twice due to my knee injury I had suffered this summer and my baby boy's hospital stay. A week or less after my son came out of the hospital my mother in law was admitted in. She was a strong and amazing lady. Very soft spoken. She left behind her husband, Her oldest son (he has Aspergers (sp?), blind in one eye and deaf so he lived home with them), My brother in law, My husband and 5 beautiful grandsons ( 2 from my brother in law and 3 from me and my husband). She also left behind 2 Daughter in laws. Myself and my brother in laws wife. Her brother and parents were waiting for her in heaven though and I am sure they welcomed her with open arms.

My oldest son took it really hard about her death, but we explained to him that she had been in the hospital for a while we just didn't tell him, because he was worried about his baby brother enough already. We explained to him that her cancer had been causing her a lot of pain so now she is in no more pain and is in a better place. We told him she went to heaven to be with Jesus. He decided since she is in a better place he is happy for her, but did tell me he still misses her. I told him that it is ok and completely normal to miss someone, because it shows that you cared about them and they touched your life. I am actually thinking about getting a plant or something of some sort for my children to either have indoors or plant outside in memory of their Grandma Kathy since there isn't going to be a service held for her upon her request.

Kathy you are a wonderful person to meet and know and I am blessed that you touched our lives. I regret we didn't get to have more time with you, but that is my selfishness because I know now that you are no longer in pain. I know you wanted to hang on to your new life longer and watch your grandchildren grow up, but we know you are watching us from heaven with your hand on our hearts. We love you and will miss you always until we join you in heaven.

School Starts in 9 Days!

This is a big thing in my house. Especially this year. I have one who is going to be going into Kindergarten. His first time in public school. I was a home schooling mom before last year. My oldest was home schooled since he was 3 years old. Last year he went into first grade in the public school system. He did really well and had no adjusting problems. I feel it also helped that the school is a small country school and at the most the class had 17 students in it. His teacher was a very good teacher who also was the teacher who took the resource kids. She knew how to manage her time and help the children who needed it most and was still able to help those who would need once in awhile.

My oldest is entering into the second grade this year. My middle child is going into Kindergarten. My baby is staying home this year with me, but will attend speech once a week for the fall quarter and depending on how things go with the Kidney Specialist he will hopefully be starting speech 3 times a week when winter quarter comes around. School supplies are bought. Only have one thing from my middle child's list to get which I have to go to the town 30 - 45 minutes away to get, due to there not being a store anywhere around here that carries one pack of brown construction paper. Still have to get lunch boxes too, because this year my children will not be eating food at school. The school does not give them good choices. They don't even make sure they eat their food and not just their dessert. I am on the search for fun lunch ideas for them to take that is not only yummy but good for them. I want to make sure it is stuff they will eat. Nothing worse than a child who decides not to eat their lunch while at school when they come home from school! My oldest did so most days at school. He was supposed to been eating breakfast and lunch at school. Found out he wasn't going to breakfast when he got to school and he was only eating the junk food they were given for his lunch. By the time he got off the bus he was starved and was eating whatever junk he could get his hands on at my mom's house (where he rode the bus to).

This school year I am going to make changes! I plan on getting fast and easy grab and go breakfast items. We have a crazy morning in our household. We get up at 6:30 am. I usually feel like I am running late. This year we will be getting up at 6 am. All 3 children will have a bedtime of 8:30 pm so they are getting an hour and a half over 8 hours of sleep. I will lay out the baby's clothes for the next day the night before after everyone has their baths and showers. I will have the other two pick out their clothes for school. I am going to actually try and enforce a schedule. All the way from morning wake up to bedtime. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. We will have to have dinner at 5 pm before daddy gets off work and gets home due to the fact that daddy gets off work at 6 pm and sometimes we don't get home till 6:30 - 7 pm from picking him up from work. I am hoping with one child at home things will be easier around here. I am hoping to be able to get caught up on housework. I am hoping to get to sit and enjoy some hobbies a little more. I am hoping to become the mother and housewife I always wanted to be. I want to have a hot dinner on the table on time every night. I want to have a wonderful after school snack prepped and ready for my children by the time they get home from school. I hope to have my house clean and inviting. Laundry clean and put away. My laundry is in closet demon! I have lots of hopes I might just have to make a list of. Go over and figure out how I can and will achieve them.