First Day of Kindergarten!

Today is Kendall's very FIRST day of Kindergarten!

We are doing things differently this year...she is being homeschooled! 

Homeschooling is something Evan and I have talked about off and on since we lived in Louisville. We saw it done VERY well there, and has always been on the table as an option for many reasons. For the longest time, though,  I haven't felt researched enough or even a peace about it being what was best for our children. Personally, I have a very deep love for the public school system (though be it flawed). I grew up in public school, my dad was on the school board, and the public school system gave me my first "real" job out of college. To be very honest, thinking in the direction of homeschool has been a huge stretch for me!

Kendall's Pre-K year at the public school was wonderful. She had great teachers and learned so much. As the end of the year approached and throughout the summer, though, Evan and I started talking again about the possibility of homeschooling. As the conversation went on, I told him I still didn't feel a peace about it and I thought we needed just to send Kendall to Kindergarten and let me take the year to pray and research. If you know me very well at all, I am not a very impulsive person and I just thought homeschooling this year would be impulsive. 

At the end of July, the Lord started really stirring our hearts about the whole issue. (Well, at least He started stirring my heart!) Several unprompted conversations happened (too much to give detail here!) that made me start really thinking seriously about the possibility that this was indeed the direction God was leading our family. Then, the Monday before Arden's little surgery, Kendall had to take a Kindergarten placement test. I knew she would do fine on it and had no worries at all, but was a little taken aback when the teacher that administered the test came out bugged-eyed after it was over. She was amazed at Kendall's skill level and knowledge. 

We knew Kendall was bright, but we've never really thought of her as smarter than the average smart kid her age. She is already reading (very well) and knows a lot of stuff, but it's not because we sit down and work with her or anything. She's just showed interest, and we just go along with her, talking to her and making conversation. Imagine our surprise and shock when we received a phone call the night after the test, suggesting we let Kendall skip Kindergarten and go on to 1st grade! No joke...we about fell out!

After A LOT of talk, tears (me), and prayer, we just decided homeschooling was the best for this year. Neither Evan nor I felt comfortable sending her on to 1st grade (for many, many reasons!), but we felt as equally uncomfortable letting her go to Kindergarten because we knew she would probably be bored out of her mind.

 Seriously, this decision was one of the absolute hardest decisions I've ever had to consider and make in my life. So many things to think about! Evan and I even spent one night making a list of pros and cons, thinking that would make our decision. You can only imagine the mess of tears I was after both the lists were equal! In the end, we had to stop listening to outside opinions and just do what was best for our family and what we thought would please God most. 

Kendall has taken the news like a champ. She has NO IDEA of the reasons why we chose to homeschool (we don't feel it is necessary for her to know she could have skipped Kindergarten)  but was happy with the news. She knows so many kids who are homeschooled and even remembers the "field trips" we tagged along with when we lived in Louisville. She really loves being at home and with our family, so her reaction didn't surprise us. I have sensed a little bit of nervousness from her about it and she has a lot of questions, but overall she is genuinely excited. 

We are also blessed to have lots of support from family and friends. One of the reasons Kendall was excited about Kindergarten was because she was going to get her own desk instead of sitting at a table with others. Because of this, we wanted to make sure she had a desk at home to use. When I told my dad about our plans and Kendall's excitement over a desk, he told me he had several old school desks out in his shop and would be happy to fix one up for her. This, among other encouragement, makes it a lot easier to be confident in our decision.

I am really excited for many reasons...I love that we don't have to schedule our lives around an 8-3:15 school schedule. I am glad to not have to sit in a long pick-up line, waiting for Kendall to come home. With Sunday being a work day for Evan, this allows us to go visit family without Kendall having to miss school on a Friday so we'll have enough time for travel and visiting. I am super pumped about the curriculum I've ordered from Memoria Press (even though it isn't here yet!) and can't wait to get started with it. We have several things in the works as far as social outlets go, one being a co-op group where we will connect with other homeschool families. 

While I am excited, I also know this will be a challenge. I have a two year old that requires a lot of attention and another baby on the way, not to mention that the one being formally schooled also has her ideas of how things should be done and I'm sure will occasionally give me fits! :) However, the Lord has truly given me a great peace and is constantly giving me reminders from His word that He is with me. These verses have spoken volumes to me in the last week, as we have finalized and made our decision public: 

Hebrews 13:20-21

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Galatians 1:10

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people I would not be a servant of Christ.

Even though our curriculum has not arrived (I expect it by the end of the week, hopefully!) we still made today our official start day. We had a great first day of school with lots of review and even some new concepts introduced, ending the official learning time with some art! This will certainly be an adjustment for all of us and I am looking forward to see how I am grown and challenged in my faith and as a mother. 

Looking forward to a WONDERFUL year!