School's Out!!

(Old photos of our homeschooling room - from the fall of '07.)

We finished our school year yesterday! :) We had a great year and it's hard to believe we now have a 5th grader and a 2nd grader (plus a tag-along preschooler!). The kids had a great year and became more self-sufficient with their work (in a good way). We switched to a heavy reading-intensive curriculum, Sonlight, this year, and while it was good, it wasn't my favorite curriculum. I think my favorite will likely always be Winter Promise! If we go back to homeschooling, I think I will definitely use WP again!

We planned to homeschool our children for several years and eventually send them to school. With the completion of this school year, we have been homeschooling for six fantastic years! It has flown by!

After lots of prayer, discussion, school tours, and more prayer, we decided to enroll Riley & Quinn in a private Christian school for the fall for a variety of reasons. We are excited about it, but I will really miss homeschooling them every day. We get to do a LOT of fun things together and I'm learning a lot, too!

We do believe, however, that this is the very best decision for our family for this year. We may bring them home again next year, or the following, or have some kids in school, and some home . . . who knows? What we do know is that the Lord is in control and He will have them where they are supposed to be. It's been a difficult decision but one we feel is best.

I'll still have little O at home, so although I'm leaving 4th and 1st grade behind, I'm transitioning back to preschool - bring on the crafts, alphabet magnets, glue, and lots and lots of books!!

We are looking forward to a year of change, growth, and new opportunities for the kids!