my kinder grad and our journey to homeschool

Thad the Man

My Little Thaddeus graduated kindergarten on Wednesday. Bittersweet day!  He looked every part the little man in his striped tweed suit and zipper tie.  He thought his outfit was pretty cool stuff.  He insisted on wearing his tie outside his vest just he could zip it up and zip it down.  Really, whoever invented the zipper tie is genius.

I am so proud of my little boy.  I've watched him mature leaps and bounds this past year.  He's overcome a lot and  to see him standing ramrod straight completely at attention for the entire two hour kindergarten bridging ceremony was nothing short of a miracle!  My heart just about burst.  He was such a little gentlemen.

I think I'm just about as excited for school to be over as Thad is!  This year has not been without it's difficulties.  Kindergarten was a big transition for Thaddeus who had never been to daycare or preschool and had to adjust quickly to an accelerated program.  He loved school and loved his teacher, but there were a lot of immaturity issues (not being able to stand still, pay attention, making noises, etc.) and it was hard for him.  I'm just so thankful that he was surrounded by teachers and administrators that loved him and were praying for him.  I was certainly praying for him!  All day every day!  

I've had a couple conferences with Thad's teacher and she told me what I already knew:  Thad learns best one on one.  You know how there's some things you just "know"?  I've known for several years that I want to homeschool my kids.  With our busy schedule in the ministry and working part time, homeschooling just seems like the best option for keeping or family first.  This year, I noticed character traits that I want to help Thaddeus learn, but even more importantly than that, I want him to learn things through the truth of God's word.  I want to teach his heart AND his mind.  Moral excellence should always come before academic excellence.  And I'm not saying that's impossible if children are in public school.  I've just learned this year that it puts me on the defense (constantly having to refute the negative influences) instead of the offense.

I don't think homeschooling is for everyone.  I'll be the first to say that.  I went to public school and that worked for me.  It was the best decision for my family then.  Although I will say that I was the only person in my class from fifth to eighth grade--it was a small two room country school!  Joel attended private school and that was the best decision for him.  Every family is certainly different.  And every school district has its pros and cons.

It's been pretty amazing to witness how God has led us to this decision.  Even though I knew I wanted to homeschool, Joel was decidedly against it.  We shared our concerns on both sides and talked freely about it but we both felt very strongly about our differing opinions.  I was beginning to feel desperate and was convinced that I had to make Joel see things my way.  That only pushed him farther in the other direction.  I knew I needed to let him make the final decision and Joel rarely makes decisions that I don't agree with, we are always able to compromise and reach common ground.  But this time it was different.  He wasn't budging.  So I let it go-- I don't know how I did it, I can only say that God gave me the grace!  I handed it over to God.  I submitted myself to God's will and I respected my husband's decision.  I didn't hold it against him and nag him constantly about it.  I prayed about it instead.  I asked God to change my husband's heart if this was the direction He wanted our family to go.  

And you know what?  God did it!  A few months ago Joel came to me and told me, "Baby, I was wrong and you were right.  I think we should homeschool.  I'm 100% for it."  And now he is almost as excited as I am about homeschooling!  Wow.  Prayer works!  I've been looking at bible-based curriculum on the web and I've been so impressed.

I've never been so excited for school to start!

"yeah, I'm cool."

The Outtakes: