Lord,

Please help me today! My I wake up from the shadows and do what is right for us all. Give me the strength to make it through another day of trying to teach my daughter ANYTHING!!

And we're off!

Okay, I finally think I got this homeschooling thing down! But, I'm fairly sure she will need to go back and repeat the fourth grade...

We begin our morning with couch snuggle time and sit there until about 9:30. I then proceed to get my day started by having a shower and then taking my leisurely time to get school "started"! When in fact we actually start around 1:00 pm. In case you missed it that was 1:00 pm. Not 10 or even 11, but at 1:00. That seems to be working best for us and I can't really complain. Works for me too.

I'm just praying to the math gods that what I am teaching her will actually stick with her and that she will remember anything I have taught her. Baby steps...baby steps.

Well, the honeymoon phase of homeschooling is over. I feel like a complete failure in trying to help my child. I told her the truth today about the real reason we decided to homeschool. Basically, because she was not getting math. I also told her I had started her out on a lower level so that she could catch up. I think it went right over her head and that it didn't really phase her.

We haven't done anything today. I'm sitting in our classroom listening to the mundane tick tock of the wall clock. It is really annoying...I've made breakfast, lunch, mopped the floors, done some laundry, cleaned up the kitchen at that's it. Really have taught my daughter how to sulk which is something I'm pretty sure she already knew how to do relatively well. Waiting for time to pass by so that I can go to bed and start a new day because this one sucks. So much for the happy positive outlook on making this work. Kudos to all of you moms or dads that can make this work!

Confirmation

I guess I had asked just about everyone to give me the confirmation that I needed to start homeschooling my daughter.

I didn't consider the one person that I was doing this for. Well tonight I got my confirmation! And it was from her! I was going to make sure everyone was tucked in for the night. I could hear something coming from our "classroom" and I thought it was my older daughter on Skype with her friend. As I was walking in to scold her I was taken aback to see my little homeschooler working on her schoolwork! She was even working on MATH! The main reason why I wanted to homeschool! She was so happy when she scored a 100 on her test that she could not stop smiling! It brought tears to my eyes.

Once she was done I walked her up to her room and kissed her goodnight. She was still smiling from ear to ear! I on the other hand, came downstairs and started bawling. It was the exact confirmation I needed and it came from her. It was wonderful to witness her self confidence rise up knowing that she can do anything!

So, I took my daugher out of regular school and wanted to try this "homeschool thing". WHAT HAVE I DONE??!! I know it's the right choice because she wasn't getting the help she needs. There were too many kids in regular school (25 to be exact) and it is only going to get worse. I truly don't understand where my $6500/year goes to for education purposes. I really don't get it! Why can they not afford to add another teacher to try and make the classes smaller? But, I guess it's not for me to worry about any longer!

I've been toying with the idea of homeschooling for 2 years and it finally felt right to take her out ASAP. I loved her teachers very much and thought they were the best ones for her, but with the added pressures of teaching to the masses it was too much for them.

Now, the new testing that is required in the state of Texas is ridiculous and that is all that the school district is focusing on. Why? Because the school gets a rating that says they are SUPERIOR or better known as,"The school that everyone should send their kids to because we scored the highest on some stupid test!".

Well, we got her room ready today and I must say that I am excited about this journey! Maybe that's a little over the top, but I feel good about knowing that if she's going to be screwed up that I did it and not the "perfect" elementary school.

Bring on DAY 2!!