Charley's last day of Kindergarten

For the last few months or so I have had this feeling that I needed to keep Charley close to home. Every time I thought about it, the prompting that came to my mind was to keep her home for Kindergarten, spend more time with her, develop a closer bond with her and between her and her sisters and be able to teach her myself both educationally, spiritually and be able to imbed values and morals that I deeply believe in. It was a really hard decision but in the end I had to trust my mama instinct and after having a talk with her (she was totally in favor of homeschool), I e-mailed her teacher and told her that after Christmas break she wouldn't be going back to school. Her teacher was very sad to hear this but very gracious as well. She loved having Charley in her class and said how sweet and kind Charley was. I felt really bad but knew it was the best thing for our family.

The talk I had with Charley before I had e-mailed her teacher was a sweet one. One night she came out after I had put them to bed and she said she couldn't sleep. I was doing the dishes and stopped and came over to the couch and held her. We talked for a bit and then I asked if she would want to homeschool. Her best friend is homeschooled so she knows a bit about it already. She said that she did want to homeschool and I asked her why. She said, "So I can learn from mama" (I love how she calls me mama!). I went through a few scenarios with her so she knew what would happen. I told her she wouldn't go back to her classroom or see her friends and teacher anymore. I told her she wouldn't have her specials classes or go to recess. She was fine with all of it and was really excited to stay home and homeschool. After talking with her the decision was a lot easier since I knew she wanted to as well.

Over the break I got a few books, bought some curriculum and scheduled in a few things that I had found and liked. It took us a few days to get into a rhythm and figure out how to do everything especially with Bergen and Lenny being apart of it all too. We have homeschooled for 4 weeks now and we all love it. Really, the girls ask everyday if we can do school (even on Saturday and Sunday). They are eager to learn and eager to get started in the morning. Charley has already asked if we can homeschool for first grade and says she really likes it. It has been such a nice change of pace for our family and I love seeing her relationship with Bergen and Lenny grow. Her academics are fine and I am not concerned about teaching her many "school" things. It's a few math and reading lessons but mostly play, cooking, art, crafts, nature, library, museums, and sewing. The other day when I put the girls to bed Charley told me out of the blue that she loved homeschool. It melted me! :)