Getting Started

We so did not want to be a homeschooling family.  I love all my sweet homeschooling friends, but the idea of entering into the home school arena was about as appealing to me as having my wisdom teeth extracted.  But, alas, God has a plan.  Like most times, I am the last to go along with His plan.  I was pretty determined that my two little boys would attend public school.  I thought that they could be like Daniel and Joseph and stand firm in a world of corruption shining out like a beacon through the darkness that is public school.  They were blessed to be just that for a time.  They did shine brightly.  However, their circumstances were not such as would allow us to keep them in public school.


Jackson is a pretty special little boy.  I have known for a long time.  His 3K teacher stated that he excelled in patterns.  At three he knew every variety of dinosaurs that ever existed.  By Kindergarten, he talked like a man.  To tell you the truth, he has always been a little man.  In between 1st and 2nd grade, Jackson wanted to learn Geometry while other kids want to play with Transformers.  Jackson has a bit of a focus problem.  Well, okay, he has a big focus problem.  In first grade, the teacher called me and told me that he needed to be tested for ADD and that he should get some medication.  She stated that it was so easy.  She said she thought that they even have a patch that he could wear.  We were seriously alarmed.  First of all, what was this teacher doing giving us a medical diagnosis?  Second of all, why did he have the ability to read for hours on end without any problems focusing?  We took him to the psychologist and had him tested.  The sweet lady who tested him came out and said that his biggest problem wasn't ADD.  She said that he has an extremely high IQ and that he needs to be stimulated mentally.  She said that we should send him Rice University in the summers for programs and tell the teacher to never make him do single digit addition again because it was extremely unjust for him to be tortured in such a way.  Well, we persisted in keeping our Jackson in public school.  He did get into the Gifted and Talented program.  Even in this, he was never truly challenged.  Well, unless you count the impossible challenge of paying attention.


My precious little Grant is a whole other story.  He is Autistic.  His diagnosis is mildly Autistic and ADHD.  Yep.  Oh, yeah, that's right.  He bounces.  He runs.  He is full of energy.  Grant didn't start talking until he was 4 1/2 years old.  This was only after private speech therapy.  The therapist let me sit in and when I would go home, I'd make tons of flash cards.  We would go over them time and time again.  He learned to speak by learning his letter.  He is now an excellent speller.  He learned how to pronounce each letter individually giving him a strong knowledge of his phonics.  You know the saying.  Once they start talking, they never stop.  This has been the case for Grant.  He just has to say exactly what he is thinking pretty much all day long.  School was tough for Grant.  The first week of kindergarten, he was crouched under the table scrubbing his nose into the carpet.  It wasn't pretty.  He would do things like stop drinking water so that he wouldn't have to go to the bathroom because he hated the sound of the toilets.  He wouldn't play with other kids on the playground because of anxiety with bugs.  He believed everything that everyone told him.  He even believed that his birthday was a different day than it really was.  He knew his birthday, but they wrote it down wrong at the school and so he believed what they said instead of what he knw.  It is sad, really.  He lacks discernment.  He lacks wisdom.  These are just some of the reasons that we decided to home school him.  I think the straw that broke the camel's back was when one of the staff told me that he didn't want to read so she told him to just pretend to read so the other kids wouldn't be upset.  My husband and I agreed that there was absolutely no reason that Grant shouldn't read with the other children.  We saw that the school's "accommodations" were, in fact, going to prevent Grant from getting the best education that he could receive.


So, here we are.  The school year ended.  The boys are officially homeschoolers.  We have all of our curriculum.  We have started a little bit to get used to each other.  I can see already that God is going to mold me through this.  I am sure that it will be as much to my benefit as theirs.  I really am thankful that we are going to do this.  I really think they have needed their mama.  They needed guidance.  This summer as we get used to being around each other again, I see how much they really do need their mom.  Even more than that, I see how much they need God's Word covering their lives.  I can't wait to see the fruit that they will bear.  It is kind of exciting.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for them!