I was working as a K4/K5 preschool teacher but I quit my job one month before I got pregnant because doctors had told us we couldn't get pregnant. Both my husband and I were latchkey kids growing up. We did not want that for our children so we decided that I would continue to stay home when and if we had children. Stone was our miracle baby. I loved staying at home with him. When he was 4, we took Stone to the public school and registered him in March for K5, but that summer we listened to James Dobson's book called "Bringing Up Boys". It changed our whole way of thinking about the differences in raising boys and girls. It opened our eyes as to how public school is literally NOT designed for boys. The requirements to sit still and conform to behavior is scientifically proven to be impossible for boys that age and that is why so many are on medication. We didn't want to medicate our child. So began our homeschooling journey as we waived K5. We also wanted to give Stone a Christian education without the high cost of private school. Each year after that we decided that homeschooling was God's plan for Stone and us. We were able to lead and guide him every day. The best thing about homeschooling for me was being able to literally "watch" my son learn. It was so awesome to see that light bulb go off when he figured something out. I love the excitement in his eyes as he was learning something difficult in a fun way! Because we were together all the time, we are close even to this day.
Randall and I have been married for nearly 26 years. We homeschooled our only child for 13 years, including K5.
Dear Heather, I starterd homeschooling 2 years after you?, and meeting you was such an important part of my beginnings in homeschooling, because you were there to hug me and pray for me when my youngest johnny, 2 at the time, would scream when I left classroom to go and try help in another class! Thank you!. That's when I realized I was part of a support group ,that even though we were with AHSA at the time, we all grew into a new one shortly thereafter..CHOICE! Growing, teaching, organizing and sharing alongside of you all of these years,has been a treasure for me, as I treasure our friendship now and always!