Never Say Never ~ part 2 ~

As I mentioned before, I've learned the hard way about the old saying, "never say never". 

My husband and I were NEVER going to homeschool our children. We both went to public school and we felt that if our parents thought it was right for us, then it must be the right way. We always made sure to buy a house in an area with the best schools (Lindale ISD has great schools) and we NEVER thought of doing things any other way...until now. 

It all started in September of this school year. The girls were off to a great start in second and fourth grades. They had amazing teachers and the sweetest friends. We were not having any problems, but they suddenly began asking if they could switch to homeschool. They felt like they didn't have time to do the things that they enjoyed around the house, between school and after school activities. This really got me thinking. I was spending at least an hour and a half every day in the car, dropping off and picking kids up from school, which meant their three year old brother was in the car that long every day, too. 

We started researching, talking with family and friends who homeschool and praying. And praying. And praying. This was a huge decision that required much thought. Meanwhile, the girls kept asking and asking for this change. My sister-in-law who homeschools and another good friend both suggested that we read The Well-Trained Mind, which I found very helpful. 

Finally, we decided that if the girls really wanted to be homeschooled, we would go for it. Choosing curriculum can be overwhelming, but after much research, we decided on a plan that we feel is best for our girls. We are using Sonlight for Bible, History and Geography and Reading/Language Arts, Saxon for math, Answers in Genesis for Science and Mavis Beacon for keyboarding. My mom, who used to teach high school Spanish, is coming twice a week to give Spanish lessons and we are continuing piano lessons with Vanessa Chisler Piano Studio. We will also continue having horseback riding lessons and participating in Destination Imagination.

The girls will be able to participate in the East Texas State Fair Academic Rodeo, thanks to a local homeschool group that is allowed to register for events as a school. 

So, we started the 2015-2016 school year planning to NEVER homeschool...

And here we are now, "back to school" after the Christmas break AT HOME. 

I told my mom that she needed to get me a list of everything I said I would NEVER do, because now's the time!