Homeschooling

Sometimes all it takes is a phone call to get the ball in motion. Like today, for instance. First though, a little history.

Anyone who knows me well knows that for the last two years I have been seriously considering the idea of Homeschooling my kids. For many different reasons. I'm pretty sure Ex will have quite a lot of negative stuff to say about Madeline being homeschooled, and I'm pretty sure he's going to try and fight me all the way on it. But with Terran and Connor, I think it'll be OK. Connor especially. Since he's only three, we can start homeschooling him without having to go through all the red tape of writing intentions to the Dept. Of Education, etc. For now. And it helps that Levi supports this decision also. So I've been talking to other homeschooling mothers, gathering information, reading, researching, and am a member on PEI Homeschool.com. I've been fairly quiet on the message boards, just "listening" and getting a feel for the homeschooling community. One of the perks of being a member of this website is that I also get E-mails of any events going on in the homeschooling community. SO... when I got one regarding a field trip to a historic village in Orwell Corner, I HAD to call and book us in.

This place is amazing. We've been there before when Levi and his family had a horse show. It has an old one room school house complete with slates and a pot bellied stove, an Old General Store, and other quaint buildings, lots of animals and beautiful gardens.
This one was taken a couple of years ago. The Old General Store is in the background. Pretty spot, isn't it?

Anyways, Friday is a "Hands On" day for homeschoolers, and "we" get a reduced group rate of $4 a person. (Normally $20. individually) The day starts with a tour of the buildings and artifacts, and then a picnic lunch. Then there's hands on activities, like Candle Making, Wool Spinning, Ice Cream making, and some stuff going on at the Blacksmith's too. It's a great history lesson, my kids get to meet some homeschooled kids, and I get to chat with some other moms. The best part is that the contact person for this outing lives not far from my house.

All this is just to say I'm excited, not just for Friday, but for this new direction our life is taking. It's like that first exhilarating dash into the ocean, the cold of the water takes you by surprise for a second, but once you're in the water is great. Refreshing even. I took the first step today by actually getting involved. I mean, this means that I'm really going ahead with my decision to homeschool my kids. Once the kids realize how much fun learning can actually be, it'll be a refreshing change for us all.