Another First Day Of School

The 2nd day I brought Parker back to Byron, I had to walk him to what would have been his classroom so he could walk with his class. He was peeking in through the window watching the teacher finish up a book, and I started to feel the guilt! Here we were running errands that morning, while every other 5 year old on the planet was having a blast at Kindergarten! What was I thinking? Then I picked him up, and he asked to stay for Library time. We drove home, and I went upstairs and cried. Were we doing the right thing? Should I let him go the entire afternoon to Byron? Why was it again that we chose homeschool? Luckily Ryan was home and I was able to talk through it all with him, and came right back to the current plan and reasoning we had in the beginning. I was feeling much better, and then we started to put up the whiteboard, which made homeschool start to feel real.

At first I was thinking we should always start school at home the same day Byron starts, but then again, one of the perks of homeschool is not having to start so early =) The day after Labor day came and Parker Prep and Adley's Alphabet were about to begin!

Ryan did such an awesome job with this room! He did everything I asked him to do, and he is so supportive of classical homeschool. <3 nbsp="" p="">

Tuesday morning, here we go! 

We dug right in and haven't looked back since. 

If the school year is any type of reflection of this first day, we are going to have a great year!

So just a smidge about classical ed and why we're drawn to it. 

1 - My first real teaching job was teaching Kindergarten at a classical school in Naperville. I really feel like God placed me there for a reason. I had never heard of classical education, but when the first thing that caught my attention was that they teach younger students a lot through song and chant. 

2 - They learn everything as a reflection of God and His creation. So, in all subjects, you look for God, and therefore grow your understanding of Him and become more in awe of how great He is!

3 - All subjects are taught in chronological order. Bible, History, Science, Music, Art - it all goes together! When you realize how they work together, you have a better understanding of it all. You understand why these things are happening in history during this time in the Bible, and why the scientists are discovering this, and artists are painting this scene and music sounds like this...etc.

4 - The reading and writing curriculums take the philosophy of learning from the best - the classics. Kids start by listening to great quality literature, so they can then learn how to write similarly. They also practice their handwriting by copying pieces of scripture, poems, historical literature, so they can see how a proper sentence/paragraph is structured. Then, when they start writing themselves, there is (hopefully) much less correcting and re-learning. 

There are many more reasons why we are drawn to this style of education, and this just happens to be what WE feel like we are called to do. So, that's why we're doing it. I have nothing against other types of education and want to make it clear that I support whatever other family's decide is best for their kids. =)