Grace-Filled Homeschool

Homeschooling gives us the freedom to set our own schedule. This is especially beneficial when our world is rocked by loss, whether expected or not. This freedom also allows us to take trips during less crowded times and serve others at a moment’s notice. 

When people ask how long we’ve been homeschooling, the short answer is “always,” but the longer answer includes a difference in cultures. When we lived in Germany, Dietrich attended German Kindergarten. This allowed him to learn the language and play with other children his age. German Kindergarten was not about formal learning, but play and experiential learning. While Dietrich spent his mornings immersed in the local language, I prepared lessons for him to learn “American Kindergarten” skills at home. We planned to return to Texas at the end of Peter’s time in the military, so I checked with some education folks to verify that Kindergarten is actually NOT a requirement. Our move was scheduled for November 2014, the year Dietrich would start first grade. Since we didn’t know where we were going, rather than starting him in one school, missing time to move, and changing schools at least twice, we decided to homeschool. At that time, it was a “for right now” plan. However, we soon realized how much we liked the freedom of making our own schedule and learning together. 

This year, to add to the fun, I asked the kids what they wanted to learn. They took this task way too seriously, but eventually gave me some feedback. We are having a little trouble getting started this year, with the recent death of my grandmother and a battle with Murphy’s Law, but I am practicing Grace.