PaulsenFamily Inspired!!

I just read Paulsenfamilies blog on homeschooling and I was so inspired by it ,I wanted to share my experience w/ all of you.So here it is

My children spent their first few years in public school and it was a good experience for the most part till mid-elementary age.thats when the nightmare began,and just got worse from there.

The classrooms were too small,the number of children per classroom was....preposterous and the teachers were (still are) overworked,underpaid and most of the time not very nice people(go figure).

My daughter actually made it into middleschool before we started to even consider homeschooling our children.Our church had been a part of homeschooling for quite a few years,developing a base program that would make it easier for the average family to accomplish a great fete in their lives.Little by little we began to see the difference that homeschooling was making in others lives and we quickly saw that the pro's were seriously outweighing the con's.In middleschool,my daughter would come home,day after day,ladened down w/ books and folders,study and cram and do homework for hours(partly her own fault cause she LOVED to read and study)but still a bit much if you ask me on the schools behalf.She would be up till late at night trying to get as much done as possible to get good scores,she had frequent headaches(quite often migraines) and it really took its toll on her.She was ridiculed mercilessly for her beliefs and the fact that she brought her Bible to school.Harrassed endlessly on the bus and then once clear of the bus,was physically attacked on three seperate occasions w/ the bus driver just looking on and when I called the bus garage to talk to her driver I was told that once they leave the bus,there is nothing......they can do,their hands are tied and will get into trouble if they interfere........ THEN........I recieve a phone call from the main office,from which I hear"we would like to speak w/ you and your husband concerning a problem we are having w/ your daughter".....?????To which I replied"excuse me????first of all,the words problem with and your daughter dont even belong in the same sentance together!!!what is YOUR so called problem w/ my daughter???"I was very angry at this point,I like to call it the mother bear syndrome....."WELL, we are encountering a frequency of requests from YOUR DAUGHTER to leave class and go to the library.As you must understand we can not be giving that kind of favoritism to any child on a regular basis"........(deep breath,pause,on my behalf)"why is it that she needs to go to the library so much"i ask......"well when I questioned her she said it was so she could get more work done at school so she did'nt have to take home so much work"(again,pause for thought????)"o.k,....why cant she get her work done in class??"......"She is having a difficult time.....concentrating while in class,and is seeking to  seperate herself from the others"  By now I am reading between the lines of BULL I am being fed and I reply"So what do you think we should do about it?" ..."Well the best I could come up with at this time is we can allow her to place a desk outside the classroom in the hall and she can sit out there...."UUhhhh....NO...Absolutely NOT!!!!"I said,cause when I was in school and that happened to someone it meant they were in trouble,and she is already getting enough ridicule and harrassment as it is!!!"the person on the other line became very flustered and defensive after that,and we finally agreed that I would talk to her and try to get to the root of the problem.So that night we sat down and discussed it and when I asked about the frequent requests to go to the library,her response shocked me!she said it was impossible to concentrate on anything in class cause the kids acted like a "bunch of animals"were her exact words.so we agreed to work together on a solution and see if we could just get through the rest of the year.A short time later,I was approached by a friend from church that was a substitute teacher in the same school district that we were in.He greeted me and said"I had your daughters class the other day,it was good to see her"then he astounded me in the next moment when he said"I just cant get over the kids now day's,they are so disrespectful and dont care what anyone says to them,they act like ANIMALS compared to when my kids were in school...." I could'nt believe I was hearing the very same thing from an adult teacher that I had just heard from my pre-teen daughter!!  In the mean time,at the elementary school,my oldest son was stuffed in a classroom of 30 children,of which about 85-90% were all boys and one frazzled teacher decides to zero in on my softspoken tenderhearted son who would'nt dare defy authority....o.k. I am embelishing a little but not all that much,still the # of children and the high # of boys in the class is no exageration.  So the disputes began there as well.

At the close of the school year,I was approached by the principle of the homeschool program at my church,who asked me if I could come to the church on a Friday nite to run sound for the homeschool awards celebration and graduation.Sure, no problem,I arrived on time,had no idea what to expect,and proceeded to be blown away by these children of all ages,K-12th grade,recieving award after award for all kinds of accomplishments.I sat in the sound booth and wept as a kindergartener approached the platform,dressed in a three piece suit, boldly accepting an award and shaking the hand of the award presenter.It was that nite that I picked up as much info as I could get my hands on and took it home and after about two weeks of weighing it all out and MUCH prayer,we decided that we would homeschool our children,starting the next season.I still can see my boys,standing in their bedroom window,on a blustery nasty day,watching the bus go by and cheering that they did'nt have to be out there,but in side w/ me where it was warm by the fireplace and time for mom to read out loud to them while they eat breakfast and prepare to start their day.

My children were the healthiest they had ever been during that time,and we did'nt have to worry about scheduling family vacations around someone elses idea of a good time to go on a family vacation(sarcasm intended).and since my hubby worked midnights,they got to see their father alot more often than they would have if they were away in public school.     plus we were able to instill in them the sound biblical principles and good morals that are so carelessly discarded in schools and society today.

I am fantastically proud of how my children have turned out too!!My daughter at age 16 I think,hired in to a Bible book store and homeschool resource center!!go figure.  She proceded to work,finish school one year early,graduated w/ honors as her class saludatorian(spelling??) recieved presidential acedemic awards for her outstanding grades and accomplishments,spent an entire year working,paid for her first car,phone and braces(her choice)developed a phenominal singing voice which is one of her biggest passions and you will all sample real soon!!(she still works there,now 22 yrs old and is the store manager)she has been on at least three different mission trips(New Jersy,and twice to Honduras)married her "high school" sweetheart who is now serving his first tour of duty in Iraq w/ the National Guard as a field medic,...and they are expecting their first child in July.She determined years ago that she would homeschool all of her children, Lord willing, and that was what her sole purpose in life was to be.To be the best wife and mother that she could possibly be and to raise her children the way the Lord has directed us to.PLUS she has a set of pipes that any mother would be proud of!! I cant wait for you all to hear her sing.

My oldest boy,also graduated w/ honors and achieved saludatorian,He joined the Army and has successfully finished one tour of active duty in Afghanistan and will be starting his second tour in about three-four weeks.He fully intends to complete Bible college and wants to be a Youth Pastor eventually,and is considering re-classifying as a chaplain's assistant to a chaplain if he stay's in the Army.He is also quite a talented bowler and is currently schmoozing w/ a professional trainer.The future is unknown and the sky is the limit w/ him,he has brains,talent and looks!! he  just has to decide what he wants to do and where he wants to go,and how he's gonna get there.(he will be home for two weeks starting tomorrow,on leave,We can hardly wait!!)

My youngest,graduates from High School this year.We had to make a tough decision to send him back to public school 2 years ago,because he is determined to play professional baseball.The only drawback to homeschooling is to a certain extent there are some areas that require one to be in the public school system in order for opportunity for the future to present itself.For us this area was baseball.He played little league as far as he could age wise and then there was no other option for him to play except through the school system.The school system had the advantage of deciding whether or not to allow charter school members and/or homeschoolers to still be involved in activities even tho they did not attend classes there.The system decided that if one wanted to be involved in extra curricular activities through the school,then that student would have to attend classes at the high school for at least 4 hours out of the day......(thats only 2 hours shy of a full day schedual!!!)this on top of their homeschool classes.   I dont think so!!!!    so after much deliberation,prayer,wining(from us both),begging(from our son)and flippant promises........we relented.      Now he is graduating w/ a solid GPA,an offer to play adult baseball in a community league for the summer,he plans to take one semester off school and work  as much as he can to build up a bank account,and buy a car(I'm not saying a word.....),then he will go to college for his teaching certification,8 months of broadcasting school,then see where he goes from there,but at least he has some kind of a plan.He is fascinated by old war time/movies and War History,so he wants to be a History teacher and High School baseball coach,That is if he does'nt make it in the BIG's.     So once again he has the brains,talent and looks,so like his brother he just needs to decide which direction he is gonna go in.

The last arrow in our quiver of three!!!  one week from today,my hubby and I release the string of our bow.....one last time.....

SO if any of you out there are considering homeschooling,from the voice of experience!!!!GO FOR IT!!!!!  There is ton's of support out there and nothing to be afraid of!!   Your children are worth it!!   remember that every day they get older,that is one less day you will have to possibly develop something brilliant in their life.