Welcome! Let's get to know each other!

Thanks! If I had it to do over again I would-there is no doubt! We have been so blessed and I want to be a source of encouragement.

@care51 Oh my wordā€“how amazing this is that you are doing this!! I am homeschooling my little ones (ages 7, 5 and my 2 year old will be homeschooled once he is old enough) and already sad when I think about the day when they will be grown and my homeschooling days will technically be over. But your post gave me so much hope to think I can do something just like this for my childrenā€™s children someday too! What an amazing idea and how awesome this is that you do this!! I just had to say so! :slight_smile:

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It seems to me that homeschooling never leaves you. More and more people are being led to homeschool these days and as your children get older and you are faced with new decisions itā€™s good to have someone who has gone before for support. You will find people from online communities just like this or maybe people who live in your area that you can encourage. I believe that God gave me a heart to homeschool not just for my children but also to encourage others. I donā€™t yet know how my granddaughter will be educated. Her parents may decide to homeschool or they may not but I can still bring what God put in my heart over 20 years agoā€¦ and you know what? Iā€™m having a blast! Itā€™s so much more FUN for me- no records, no rules, etc.

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Hi! Okay! I want to Homeschool for many reasonsā€¦ Like being able to tailor the curriculum to my childrenā€™s specific needs and likes, Take my time on things so they can Master themā€¦ Being able to teach my children more about God and incorporate that into our schoolā€¦ But my biggest one is the ā€œtimeā€ we can spend together as a familyā€¦ I have been very convicted after doing a bible study at my church about passing on our beliefsā€¦ And it asks the question how can you adjust your family life to align more closely with Christs designā€¦ As I was thinking and praying I realized that I was Called to Homeschool ( I have always wanted to and was planning on waiting another year!) The time I have with my children is precious and shortā€¦ I want to spend as much time with them as I can! Deuteronomy 6:5-7 really confirmed my decision also! When I read that I felt instant peace. I know that homeschool is what I want for my family and most importantly what God wants!

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Hi! W just started homeschooling this past year. We have 3 girls - ages 6,4, and 2. My oldest is in kindergarten so I am still trying to figure out what will work for us. I was a high school teacher before my girls were born so I think some traditional method will seep in. I definitely like the eclectic method for the flexibility and variety it can provide. But it is all a work in progress right now.

My biggest reason for homeschooling is to ensure that my kids have a safe, nurturing environment where they can feel loved and secure. I also want them to be spiritually nurtured and socialized in healthy manner. I hope that I can do a good job at home as I start on this journey.

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First off, thank you, thank you, @erica, for putting the time and energy into creating this community space. It looks like it has been well received and I look forward to gleaning what I can from this community as well as contributing where I can (as a brand new homeschooling parent!).

We recently moved from Maine to Vermont and are planning (and excited) to begin formally full-time homeschooling our kids at the end of this school year. We have 3 children who will be in 2nd, 4th, and 6th grade next year. I foresee us using an eclectic style of homeschooling. We have enjoyed and we believe our children have thrived upon lots of learning opportunities at home before and after school as well as during weekend and vacation time. We look forward to making homeschooling a full time endeavor beginning this summer.

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Hi Erika,
Iā€™m homeschooling my only too. Youā€™re not alone! He is nearly 4 1/2 and this was our first year homeschooling preschool. I figured I was smart enough to teach him his ABCs and his 123s, but now that heā€™s ready to start reading Iā€™m terrified!

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Hi! Iā€™m a mom to 3 (2 bio, 1 adopted from Ethiopia) I currently homeschool one of them, one attends public school where he receives maximum special education and therapy services and the other is doing informal toddler school with us at home. We take a unique approach to education in our family deciding which setting is best suited to each child to be most successful-be it homeschool, public or other!

I started with MFW for our first official year of homeschooling, then branched out and pieces together from various sources some favorites for various subjects. I have found for us and our busy schedule though that the ease of MFW and having everything in one spot was most helpful for keeping us on track, so we plan to go back to that next year. I also like to supplement in different activities from online sources such as COAH, other blogs, and of course Pinterest! We also have an excellent local homeschool group that I ā€œoutsourceā€ our music and art programs to!

I was a reluctant Homeschooler at first to be sure, but now a few years in itā€™s definitely grown on me and I love having the extra time with my kids at home with meā€¦they are growing up fast, so on those days when homeschooling and mothering is just plain tough I try to remind myself that this is time that I can never get back so be grateful for it!

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Hello, my name is Dawn. I have been homeschooling my daughter for four years, since kindergarten, and little brother will be officially joining us next year as a kindergartner as well. We have two childrenā€¦so far :wink: I have a pretty traditional teaching style with a bit of eclectic thrown in every once in a while.
We started homeschooling for several reasons, but it all comes down to our family having the freedom to choose what we do. Our main reason though, was my husbandā€™s work schedule. We have the freedom to take off when he is home and enjoy his company and then we buckle down while he is off working.
I am so glad to be here and meet other homeschoolers. :slight_smile:

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Hi Iā€™m Bethany! I have four amazing kiddos ages 2,4,5,6 and this is our 2nd year homeschooling. Although I am a teacher by trade (I used to teach Middle/High School Math) I never actually envisioned myself homeschooling. But the flexibility is such a blessing to our family, and being the one who decides what my kids learn and when has been great! Iā€™m looking forward to trying your US curriculum next year, other than that we have a hodge podge of curriculum and I just try to use what works best for my kids (theyā€™re all so different!) Nice to meet everyone!

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We have been homeschooling for 8 yearsā€¦ Oh my, I had to do some mathā€¦ Time Flies! We homeschool 7 of our 9 children. We normally use the traditional and eclectic teaching methods, but honestly depends on which child. Now, for the whyā€¦ We homeschool, because God called us to do it. We just said, ā€œYes, Lord!ā€

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Hi everyone!

My name is Sabrina and we will be starting to homeschool this fall. I had previously tried to homeschooling with our oldest daughter (now 19) back when she was in 4th grade but it didnā€™t work out well with her personality. We will be homeschooling our youngest two who are currently in 3rd and 5th grade. We have started searching out curriculum and I have no idea what our style will look like to be honest. I am still figuring it all out. As for why we are feeling called to do it- God told me that this was the year to do make the switch and we said okayā€¦ simple as that. Added on is our desire to get off the hamster wheel, spend more time as a family, work on making sure our kids are grounded in our values early on and enjoying as much time together as we can before they are grown and off. I am so excited!

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Hi! My name is Lauren! I have two boys (1 and 3), and I am pregnant with our 3rd boy, due in August. I started homeschooling our 3 year old (then 2 1/2) in August, and we have been having so much fun. I would characterize my teaching style as eclectic. Since my son is still really young, I use a variety of techniques as we discover what type of learner he is. I went to college for elementary education, so it makes sense for me to create my childrenā€™s education around them.

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Hi! Iā€™m Jodi, we are in our first official year of homeschooling. My oldest boy is 6 and we are almost finished with Sonlight Kindergarten. My 2nd boy is 4 1/2 and pretty much keeping up with his brother! And we have a 15 month old princess :blush: we started homeschooling because my husband travels for work, and we can keep our family together. We love it and wouldnā€™t trade it!! We use LOTW, K4 and some unit/literature studiesā€¦ love this new community! Thank you!

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Hello, my name is Brandy and I am going to start homeschooling this coming school year 2015-2016. I am going to be homeschooling 6 children. From ages 10 to 17. There are three different grades. My teaching style is more traditional, because all of these children have been to public school since they started school. I am starting to homeschool because there are three of the children that have learning diabilities and the school system does not want to help them. They just keep passing them and hoping to get them graduated and I believe that is not what needs to happen, the children need to have the same opportunities as everyone else. I am going the distance for these children (I keep saying children as in not mine because I have three and I have been asked to homeschool three other children that are like my kids). The only one that is doing well in public school is my 10 year with severe ADHD, but he has a wonderful teacher. I am praying that I am able to continue homeschooling until my youngest has graduated. I am so happy that I found this community. Thank you and GOD bless

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Hello! Iā€™m Teri:) I have 2 sons, 7.5 and 20! I have been homeschooling for 13 years, and love it. We have homeschooled using lots of different curriculum and methodsā€¦from unschooling to traditional, text books to unit studies. We started homeschooling because The Lord put it on my heart, I truly felt called to it. I have enjoyed my time as a homeschool mom, and wouldnā€™t trade it for anything. Through the ups and downs, we just keep our eyes focused on Him.

Hi, Iā€™m Nicole. I have 3 daughters, ages 14, 9 and 4. My nine year old began asking about homeschooling when she was in 1st grade. We made the decision to withdraw her from public school in January of 2015, mid way through 3rd grade. I work as our church secretary M-F from 9 to 3, so it was with great thought and planning that we went a head and made the switch. Weā€™ve been very pleased so far. I love the COAH blog and look forward to making connections here as a part of the community.

Hello Everyone! My name is Marie and mom to two boys. Mason who is 16 and Evan who is 5.
I have been homeschooling for about four years now. I started homeschooling because my oldest was really
struggling in school due to his mental disabilities and his Autism . I also wanted my kids to have a close bond
I also wanted to be able to add in Religious studies which I felt was really important. I guess my teaching style is a mixture I guess. I get materials from various resources. I am so thankful for this website and am looking
forward to using it with my youngest.
Marie

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Hi Everyone!

My name is Sara.

We havenā€™t started homeschooling yet but we are prepping for next year! Nadine is 9 and going into 5th grade. She has always wanted to be homeschooled and weā€™re excited to have the opportunity.

We have yet to settle on a curriculum but we are narrowing our options.

I have been on your blog all evening and have found it to be the single most helpful site Iā€™ve visited in the last few weeks. Iā€™m very excited to keep learning and becoming a part of this wonderful community!

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It looks like weā€™re about to start homeschool our five year old. She has a few delays, and we donā€™t feel like sheā€™ll be able to navigate the big classroom size well, or the typical pace. Rather than have her always needed special services or attention, weā€™d rather take care of it ourselves! She has quite the medical history and we want to keep a close eye on her. We have one other child who is happily in public school. Weā€™ve offered him the choice of homeschool several times, but he has always chosen to continue in public school, and itā€™s working for him.

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