Let's, see: teach about God, teach to pace, love of learning, excellence... yep, that pretty much sums up our reasons for wanting to homeschool J.D.

To that list I would add:

5) We want to be there to see J.D. learn, to see his pleasure when the light bulb goes on and he realizes, "I can do this!" We have already gotten a taste of that as we watched him go from a quivering poop machine (let's face it, that's pretty much what infants are) to an active, curious two-year-old, and we want more!

6) It's nobody's job but ours, and no one can do it better than we can. That may sound like a bold statement, but the fact is that no one is more invested in J.D.'s education -- not even close, not by a mile -- than we are. The state likes to trumpet about "academic qualifications," but that's a bunch of baloney. We're talking about a high-school education here. My wife and I both graduated from high school. We could do it then, and with some review, we can teach it now.

I think that's where a lot of parents get hung up. They say they have forgotten what they've learned in high school -- which, no doubt, they have. I know I have. But, at the end of the day, they don't want to make the effort of relearning it. Well, it is effort, a big one, but it has a huge payoff, and it's their job (and mine, as I said). Any parent who thinks that the government-stamped teachers at the local public school can do as good a job as they could just aren't paying attention.

Anyway, Charla, may God bless your efforts in homeschooling (I know He will), and may He bless ours as well.

Charla, while I applaud your decision to homeschool, I feel obligated to
offer advice on a few things. First and foremost is that you will not
be able to do this in your own strength or even with your own
qualifications. You must daily commit to respond to God's call on you
to homeschool and rely fully on Him and His qualifications. Trust me,
there will be days when your flesh will long for the big yellow bus! If
your commitment to God is solid and your reliance on Him complete, He'll
see you through those days. Secondly, it appears that you are taking
your child out of a school setting since you're starting with 3rd grade
level. If this is the case, please don't feel that you must jump right
into academics. The child needs to de-school first. You need to relax
and just let him begin to find the difference between schooling and
learning. Thirdly, your child is not "behind" thus necessitating
cramming his mind full of math this summer so that he is at some
preconceived level by fall. Your child is right where he is, period.
He is not ahead or behind, this is a school mentality. When you let go
of grade levels (schooling), you can focus on real learning and that is
where the joy of homeschooling is.

Thank you for your advice, Katrina. I respect your family and your stand on homeschooling, so any bits of wisdom I glean from you benefits me more than you could know.

I had not even considered letting our son "de-school." However after your post and finding numerous articles on the subject, that seems to be the thing to do. Our son has already made comments about being sad about not going back to school and missing his friends, so it seems he's gone thru some grieving period, which I anticipate will renew itself when the bus does appear in our neighborhod again.

We are not "having school" so far yet this summer. At the rate I'm going, we'll do good to start on a regular schedule in the fall.

I am actively seeking out the remainder of books I need to finish my A Beka 3rd grade set. I am also having to consider materials for our two daughters; one would start kindergarten in the fall, and the other is 2. Figuring out how to teach my gifted son and keep him challenged, plus how to teach another how to read and then the youngest how to use the potty all during the same time period..... there's no way I could do this without God's help.

So nope, we're not cramming and he's not behind. However, I still have to convince myself that my first daughter is not behind as I didn't teach her and kept her out of preschool these past two years.

I think I will be able to let go of the grade-level mentality I have once we actually start homeschooling and I learn how to teach to each of my kids individually. I think this may take some time but hey, I'm just starting out and I need to start somewhere.

(As a side note, I have become quite addicted to eBay and will need an intervention soon as I have not gone to bed before midnight any night the past two weeks. )

Sounds like you've made a good start. Here are some things to keep in mind that will make homeschool easier:

• Discipline is the single most important factor in homeschooling. Without decent discipline of your children, homeschooling is all but futile.
• For newbies, don't forget the value of de-schooling.
• Don't get sucked into "school at home" and lose many of the benefits of homeschooling.
• Most any experience can be a learning experience. However, if you turn everything into a learning experience, your kids will lose the love of learning.
• Remember that Godly wisdom is infinitely superior to worldly knowledge.
• Field trips are great--and there are plenty of free ones--but don't get caught up in them at the expense of core academics.
• Support groups actually have very limited usefulness.
• Unless you cannot teach your own child some subject or other (i.e., you are incapable of learning it at least a step or two ahead of them), don't bother appealing to co-ops, group-schooling, or whatever else support groups offer in the way of teaching. They're notoriously poor, and you lose many of the advantages of homeschooling in using them.
• Support groups are nice for ideas, new things to try, learning ways of coping with difficult students, and that sort of thing. Take advantage of others' experience and wisdom. Often, such wisdom can be found online, so you need not spend time attending group meetings and such.
• If you're looking for validation and emotional support for homeschooling, look first to your spouse (usually the husband as the wife typically teaches most subjects). If your spouse isn't meeting your need here, tell him so. If he's a freakin' loser (sadly, most are, although far less so among homeschooling families), find the encouragement you need from other helpful and supportive homeschooling families. Don't get caught up in a pity party, though, or mired in frustration. Also, remember to look to the Lord and His Word. There's lots of affirmation and encouragement there in raising the next generation according to His ways.
• Groups are occasionally (rare, in our experience) helpful in offering opportunities for group discounts at some field trip or other. More often than not, you don't need a group for this, though. If you get plugged into some decent online groups, announcements will be made when a group outing is being organized, and you can join them then. Membership in a co-op and such is not necessary.
• Don't worry about filling the whole day with school stuff. Even GA's stupid government recognizes that 4.5 hours per day is the equivalent of what students spend in classrooms (and is all that's required of homeschoolers--4.5 hr/day @ 180 days/yr, or equivalent). Really, though, most homeschoolers can accomplish in 2-3 hours what it takes all day to do in a herd-school.
• We recommend homeschooling year 'round for myriad reasons.
• Only the schools take summers off; the rest of the world has a better work ethic.
• You need not lose so much time in reviewing last year's material at the start of the next year.
• You never have to worry about meeting the 4.5/180 law, because you've got oodles of time.
• You can take time off anytime you want without blinking an eye, including taking vacations off-season.
• Schedule need never again be a source of stress.
• You can cover far more material, not restricted to a single year's worth of material each calendar year, often getting much further ahead than herd-schools.
• Choose a homeschooling philosophy to guide your curriculum choices (e.g., classical, unschooling, etc.).
• Teach to mastery, not to an artificial construct such as grades. After all, the point is learning, not testing.
• Teach conceptually, not by rote. Again, the point is actual learning, not regurgitation as the herd-schools teach.
• Teach to each child's learning style. This means knowing how to identify learning styles, and it likely means growing yourself to teach in ways not instinctively comfortable to you. (For example and for God's sake, don't strap a kinesthetic child to a desk!)
• Don't be afraid to learn new things yourself. More than likely--and especially if you want the next generation to surpass the last--you'll need to learn all kinds of new things in order to teach them to your kids. Besides, it's not like it's acceptable to quit learning just because you finish school.
• Teach your kids how to learn, how to research, how to dig up information, how to be curious about everything, how to intelligently challenge the status quo, how to grow, and most of all, how to be a follower of the Lord.
• Immerse your homeschool in prayer. When frustrated, ask the Lord for counsel. When successful, praise Him. When quiet, pray for protection and guidance. When joyful, thank Him. Pray with your kids and for your kids.

If you lose sight of the purpose and calling of homeschooling, you can become easily mired in frustrations. Such parents usually give up homeschooling eventually, to the lifelong detriment of their children. Yes, you'll have challenges, days when you seriously consider killing your own kids--after all, you're spending nearly every waking moment with them. Find good counsel for such times. Overall, though, and most of the time, homeschooling is a source of great joy for parents and children alike. Revel in it.