Thanks for the tips on homeschooling! I will definitely do that when it comes time. It sounds like you are a very good teacher for your girls. With us, we just were given a curriculum from a local homeschooling education school and then went in every now and then for the exams. I don’t think my Mom did much in the way of teaching us. But I like your approach. Making learning fun is great especially for younger kids because then they are more willing to do it.

I like the idea of having a support system of other homeschoolers. That’s a good opportunity to meet other people and have the children make friends. I don’t think they had that for us when we did it, but from other people I know who are doing it now they do have it here too.

And I know what you mean about doing as much as possible in one trip. Whenever we visit my family half an hour away we make the most of the Wal-Mart and other big stores (health food store and other grocery stores) and buy there where it is considerably cheaper than what we have here (2 over-priced under-stocked grocery stores).

The simple look is what looks the nicest I think for home decor. I think the more simple the look the homier the house feels. That’s cute you make twirling skirts for your little ballerinas…you should post pics on here! My sister and I used to do ballet too! LOL my Mom put us in it to teach us grace…she said we needed it!

So you’re from Canada, how beautiful. We visited the Ontario area when I was in junior high, and stocked up on every book written by L.M. Montgomery!

I so hope you get your place in the country and that homeschooling works out for you guys. The two go very well, hand in hand, country life and homeschooling. I’d think especially so with sons. Give them chores to do and outdoor freedom to romp and dig and run and work w/o neighbors wondering why they’re not in school.

As for when we started homeschooling, we “technically” started when my oldest was kindergarten age–5 years old. But most preschool and even kindergarten type learning can be accomplished just by a lot of talking things out together and reading great books. Pointing out math problems in everyday life, for instance, if this neighbor has 3 goats and we have 4, how many is that all together? Let’s count them. Etc. Doing word problems like that sharpens their minds so much in advance of school. Sorting out m&m’s into colored piles, helping cook with measurements, plenty of time to play with scissors and doing dot-to-dots with ABCs and numbers. Having a letter of the week that you print big and red on several pieces of construction paper and hang one in each room of the house so you can bring it to his attention whenever you think about it. There are so many “fun” ways to teach that age group, that you don’t need any fancy curriculums. We did sometimes buy workbooks at Staples or Wal Mart, just for the colorful “busy” work, and the girls enjoyed them.

As Kyle gets closer to two years old you can start teaching him the letters in his name. Maybe keep those four letters on the fridge (magnetic letters) where he can play with them and rearrange them, knowing they are his name letters. My 3 year old has been finding “K’s” in hymnbooks and library books for a year now, and it just thrills her to death to know that it’s a letter from her name.

I enjoyed hearing your education experience. How wonderful that your mom was willing to let you come home during those hard years. I found jr high to be the hardest-peer pressure wise, and I was in a private Christian school as well. I started out homeschooled for K-1st, then was in private school mostly (mom homeschooled me during a few lean years when we couldn’t afford the tuition) till my sophomore year in high school when my parents put me in public school. We’d moved to a smaller town, and it was a pretty good school system. That’s where I met my hubby, so it was a good thing.

I have a super support system of homeschoolers in a nearby city, in fact, on Tuesdays we have homeschool classes, so today was our busy day of making the most of being in a town with affordable grocery shopping, etc. Gas prices going up mean we make the most of every trip!

I must make sure you know I’m not that great of a seamstress. None of my curtains were “house beautiful” quality, just my own simple cafe style, or valances with ruffles. Curtains are so simple you don’t even need a pattern, just measure and make sure you have enough material to have it bunch nicely where you want it to! I love it that most home decor projects are easy that way, whether its throw pillows or shower curtains, if you have a sewing machine you can beautify your home pretty inexpensively. But as far as sewing clothes, you’re right, it’s cheaper to go to the thrift store or Wal Mart! The clothes I’ve sewn have been for sentimental purposes, costumes or aprons or nightgowns, or special “twirling” circle skirts for my little ballerina-wannabes! I’ve only sewn myself a couple of skirts since my home ec days. I don’t know how my mom’s sewing machine survived all the angst I poured out on it during that year!

I bet homeschooling is a roller-coaster ride! I agree with you about having more time for childhood…I went to a Catholic private school until Grade 6 and then for Grade 7 went to a public school. I hated it so much and came home crying each night begging my Mom to homeschool me until finally for Grades 8 and 9 she did. I was still into my dolls and playing like a kid (I am the oldest in my family so I was still having fun with my younger brothers and sisters) while all the other kids in school wanted to grow up way too young. My sister homeschooled with my while I was in Grade 9 and that year we got incredibly close. I wish now that we had done it for longer since when we went back to the public high school we were still close but she is a people person and got her own group of friends and we were never as close as we were back then. As much as we argued we were still best friends and I think that’s how a family should be. For that fact I would totally homeschool my children when the time comes. If we still live in the area then I will probably send Kyle to the Catholic school I went to(it’s a half hour from here but I have so many memories of it and I would like to support it since so many schools now are public and take children away from what childhood should be like). But if we aren’t living near here then I would probably like to homeschool, as long as I have Kyle doing other activities that keeps him social (like you said with your daughters). My husband and I are both very quiet, shy people so I don’t want to keep Kyle all to ourselves and then have a culture-shock when he goes out into the world. Once he makes it to junior high though (Grade 7) I will let him choose. I want to homeschool then because I know what it was like and how mean other kids could sometimes be.

That is so neat you sewed your curtains! My Mom is good like that…she has done alot of their home decorating on her sewing machine and growing up she sewed us so many beautiful dresses and costumes and stuff. I wouldn’t be quite that good…LOL in highschool I managed to get an A in sewing but I think it was more of a sympathetic A because I was in that class all the time and no matter how hard I worked I still managed to make mistakes! When you do manage to get sewing in do you find it costs less than buying clothing and stuff? I found in my sewing class that the amount of the fabric and supplies costed close if not more than it would have been to get in stores (the only difference being you could customize stuff to your liking and products were nicer and of better quality home-made…if you were a good sewer which I wasn’t haha).

The other nice thing with homeschooling is your children don’t get sick nearly as often. My parents found that with 5 of us in school (3 different schools) everyone was constantly bringing home a different bug so we’d just finish off one round of colds and someone would bring home a flu!

What age did you start homeschooling at (if you don’t mind me asking)? I’m just curious…if (like me and my husband hope!) find a place more out in the country then I will be planning to homeschool him and I’m a little foggy on the details of the kindergarten/preschool age. Well I guess preschool is prior to school so I think that is more of a daycare thing (which we don’t plan to do…I stay at home with Kyle so I wouldn’t send him to daycare/preschool) so I guess I’m asking about kindergarten then…now I’m just getting it all mixed up haha!

Though homeschooling can sometimes be a rigid taskmaster, we’re reaping the benefits in so many ways. Our girls are growing up as each other’s best friends, yet they’re very social little bodies with plenty of friends both in the adult realm and in their various age groups. I love the simplified life of homeschooling. Not being always late to catch a bus, and having 3 meals a day together, and daylight to play/do chores outside, and flexibility to read on the couch together all day long. Plus you can still educate them when they’re sick, no missing school…

My sewing machine was a high school graduation present, and I used it to sew all our curtains in our first home, plus several other projects. I certainly could have gotten a lot more things made with it, but when the babies started coming I left it put away more often than not. Had a ton of fun making my crib ensemble for my firstborn though. And then felt guilty for not making a completely separate one for the other two when they came along! I hope you get yours for Christmas! They are so much fun to play around on, and make sewing a breeze.

Same weather where you guys are? Hm, you’re probably half way across the world from me, lol, but that’s the nice thing about the internet. Hope you have fun at your in-laws house, if you end up going!