Because I'm the Mommy

1.) Tell the story of trying to learn a new talent or hobby that

you only pursued briefly.

Today I begin a new adventure. I'm choosing to look at it as a hobby because I have absolutely no desire to turn pro.

Today is my first day as a homeschooling mommy!

     Ok, I know that I'm only "teaching" preschool and that millions of kids have made it through their educational careers without preschool ~~which is exactly why I feel qualified to take on this challenge~~ and they turned out just fine. I also know that because of my flip tone, many people might get the idea that I don't think very highly of homeschoolers. It's actually both a true and a false statement.

     You see, I greatly admire anyone that feels they are qualified to take on the responsibility of educating their children. I'm also completely baffled by that attitude! Because up until today my ultimate goal was to ~~make these little people someone else's problem for a few hours a week~~ provide my children with the best opportunity to succeed academically, and that meant paying ~~through the nose~~ for preschool.
     But the Hubby and I came to a decision that we feel is in the best interest of both our boys and our family as a whole, and that means I have to get ~~off my ass~~ motivated and figure out a way to prepare my boys for Kindergarten ~~on my own~~ in the fall.
     So the first thing I did was get in touch with some homeschooling friends of mine. Homeschoolers are really ~~willing to bring you into the fold~~ friendly and helpful to a newbie. I appreciate all of the advice and materials that these ladies were willing to pass on to my kiddos. And then I started making lesson plans. I worked hours trying to figure out where I should start with each child, based on what they already know and where I need them to be by next fall. I found craft project websites for the preschool, home-schooled, child. I printed worksheets, made games and scheduled social interactions with other children.

I then worried and fretted and finally broke down crying.

I'm SO not a homeschooling mommy!

I love my ~~7.5 hours of alone time a week~~ school district.

Why did I think I could do this?

And then the Ah-ha moment dawned! Millions of children made it through their educational careers without preschool and they turned out JUST FINE! So I'm going to home school my kids until Kindergarten starts in the fall. And my goal will be that my children can identify all of their letters, numbers up to 20, basic shapes and colors. I hope that when asked they can recite their full name, address and phone number. I'm going to attempt to ensure they can cut out medium sized shapes and perhaps tie their shoes ~~don't hold your breath future Kindergarten teachers~~. I have about six months and almost two years of prior preschool training to build on. I hope it's enough....

I guess if I fail miserably they can always... repeat Kindergarten?

I can totally live with that.

Peace Out!