The "H" word.

School is about to start. The good part about this is that I will no longer see this face. Okay, that didn't come out right...what I meat was I will no longer see this LOOK. I will indeed see this sweet little face EVERY.SINGLE.DAY of the school year because I homeschool. What I won't see is the "Mommmmm, I'm bored" face. Follow?

I'm kind of nervous about this school year. Last year, I just homeschooled Whitney. This year I have Whitney AND Aaron who is starting Kindergarten. Don't get me wrong, I love homeschooling, but it's a lot of work. And I never get tired of the looks from people when I tell them I homeschool. Why? Because I can just imagine what is going through their heads when they hear the word HOMESCHOOL. It probably looks something like this: (watch it...you won't regret it!!!)



(I never get tired of that video! It's hilarious!)

I never thought in a million years that I would ever homeschool...I thought homeschooled kids were weird. I thought homeschool parents were even WEIRDER. But, my oldest daughter, Whitney has health problems and I didn't feel comfortable having her so far away. If she died at school I would never forgive myself. So, I did Kindergarten with her at home. I didn't use any particular program or set of books, I used a bunch of different things. And to my surprise, I actually REALLY enjoyed it! With 1st grade, I felt we needed more structure. So, after a lot of prayer and searching, I decided on doing the K12.com program.

K12 is actually an online public school. (yes, that's right, PUBLIC school!) It's free, it's accredited, and it is individualized to your student. They send you all of your books, supplies, and even a computer for your child (yes, it's all free)! You are assigned a homeroom teacher who you keep in close contact with for questions and such, and you meet with them a few times a year for testing to make sure your child is where they are supposed to be academically. They still have things like field trips, but instead of riding on a bus up to the museum or the zoo or wherever it is, you go as a family and get to meet other families from K12. And, they have fun things like pen pal programs, and in the summer they have field trips to Elitch Gardens at half price! It really is a neat school!

What do I like about homeschooling?

I don't have to be up before sunrise to drag them out of bed, get them dressed, make their lunches, get them to the bus stop, and if they MISS the bus I don't have to drive them to school and worry about them being tardy.

I love that we can start whenever we're ready. We don't have to start at 8:00 sharp. If we feel like starting an hour late, we can.

I love that I get to be the one to see the excitement on their faces when they understand something.

I love that we have a homeroom teacher (whom we ADORE) so I'm not doing this all on my own with nobody to turn to for questions.

I love that God is allowed at school. 'Nuff said.

(Whitney wants me to add that she likes not having to worry about bullies...)

I love that it's not a big deal to miss a day if they're sick. (And honestly, I do love that I don't have to worry about them bringing home whatever is going around school)

I love that we can go on family trips or field trips whenever we want! We don't have to worry about missing school, we can take school with us!

I love that we can get all of their school work done in about 4 hours, instead of them having an 8 hour day. Things go a lot faster when you don't have to wait for the rest of the class to finish. ;)

I love that it is so structured. I just look online at the class schedule for the day at what needs to be done, I get them started, I help them when they need help, and when they finish it I mark it as completed. That's it.

I love that the kids take a little assessment test at the end of each lesson to make sure they understand what they were supposed to learn. If they don't pass it, we go over the lesson again and re-take it. I always know they are ready to move on.

I love that our day is so flexible. If they need a break or are really having a difficult time, we can stop and take a breather and then give it another try. And, if they need to spend more time on something, they can. Or, if something is really easy for them, we can move on faster. The school is built around your child, not your child built to the school.

I love the way the school teaches. Part of the class is workbook activities, and the other part is online. They usually have fun interactive games and things for them to do. Like, when we were learning about the ocean, they got to play a simulated submarine game to explore the ocean. There were sea creatures they could click on to learn more about them. And the deeper they went into the ocean, the darker it got and the cooler the creatures were. It was fun even for ME! :)

I love just being able to be with my kids. I love KNOWING what they are learning and not having to worry about them being taught something I don't agree with. (Especially with everything going on these days!)

These are just a FEW of the things I like about homeschooling. I'm not saying that I think public school is bad...I think there are so many awesome things about public school, and I think the WORLD of teachers. They are amazing! And, I know it's not for everyone. Annnnd, I don't know what my future holds, but I feel very blessed that I am able to homeschool them for now.

So, anywayyyy, if you are interested in using K12 with your family, you can learn more at K12.com! I'm not even getting paid for this...that's how much I love it!