school decisions (part 2)

As I was been working on this post, I came across this thread at the 4Real Forum. I am so grateful for what Jennifer posted. I've included here the excerpts that reflect the conclusions I've come to:

Feel confident that you are making the right decision for YOUR family, YOUR children, in this season of life. Sending one or two to school doesn't mean you are giving up on homeschooling or a homeschool failure.

Here is what Cay Gibson wrote to me-I still return to it now and again.

"There is still so much you can do with her at home to continue that home schooling mentality that so many of us love and desire.

I think it's more important that you make your home beautiful and wonderful for your girls than worrying about "schooling" them. Make it a haven that invites your girls and your dh to want to come home to. Make it warm and loving.

There is real substance in what we do within our homes with our dc, whether they are there 24 hours, 17 hours, or only every other weekend of the month...

We are all in different situations. And we are all still learning. That's the beauty of Real Learning. It isn't institutionalized or boxed in holes. It isn't a clock on the wall. It isn't something that happens in 7 hours a day or 17 hours a day. It's the atmosphere, the environment, the self-discipline that happens every day of our lives. It's the life we make for ourselves and for those we love.""


As I look forward to next fall, where Catherine will be attending Kindergarten at the Catholic school and I will have Teresa, Anthony, and Stephen at home, I anticipate a routine that will benefit all of us. The best part of our new schedule will be the opportunity to go to daily Mass. Catherine will get on the bus at 7:25AM in our nearby very small town (a 3 mile drive) and since we'll all be up and dressed and in town, we might as well stay for 7:30AM Mass.

After Mass our day will look something like this: breakfast, cleaning/training in practical life skills, lunch, pre-school fun in the afternoon, then we'll head back to town to pick up Catherine at 3:45. Back at home the kids will have time to play together while mom makes dinner, with help from the kids, particularly on special Feasts and Solemnities, when we make something special. In the evenings we'll have time to read, talk, play, and work together, according to the season. We'll continue to refine our bedtime routine and prayers as the children grow and their needs change.

I don't know exactly what form our afternoon "pre-school fun" will take but I am sure that it will involve reading a lot of good books and getting a lot of fresh air, which is mostly what we are doing, now. It is the religious instruction of my children, that I'm feeling particularly called to focus on. I have a used copy of The Religious Potential of the Child on the way and am thinking of buying Moira Farrell's CGS Home Atrium Albums as some of my IRL friends have done. In addition to the encyclopedia of information on the Catholic Culture website, I love the ideas that other moms have on their blogs and over at the 4Real Learning Forum: Life in the Domestic Church for living the Liturgical Year at home. I'm excited about this new blog: First Heralds, as well.

In the meantime, I trying to keep up with Rebecca as she continues her Home Organization/Decluttering project and am devouring Elizabeth's posts on Homemaking. If you've read through all of this, thanks! Writing it out was mostly for my own benefit, but I decided to post it, thinking that perhaps someone will pick up a tidbit from it that will help them in their own vocation.

+AMDG+