Jenn's Introduction

******UPDATED:  OOPS!  I didn't let you know what curriculum I am using!  Right now, we are using all "regular" curriculums, not a specific curriculum for children with learning disabilities. We use A Beka (History, Language, Science, Health), Saxon (Math), Worldly Wise (Vocabulary/Spelling), Sonlight (Reading/Language), and Total Language Plus (Reading) and for History we are also reading "The Story of the World" by Susan Wise Bauer. Wow...what a hodgepodge of stuff! And I may very well add something during the school year if something is not working.  That is what is so great about homeschooling!  If something doesn't work, there is always something else you can try!

If you are looking for resources to use for different learning disabilities, check out LinguiSystems and Super Duper .  Garrison really, REALLY struggled with learning to read and the Edmark Reading Program (computer software) was a lifesaver for us.   *******

Hello!  My name is Jenn, and we live in the great state of Texas. :o)  The picture up above is all of us together, minus our little one waiting for us in China: Me and my awesome husband Karl, Katie (21), Lexie (15), Gannon (13), Garrison (11), and Karleigh Mei (not pictured) will be 3 on November 2.  We were "matched" with her on July 10th and are waiting for approval from China to adopt her.  We are praying we can have her home in time for the holidays!  You can read more about our journey to her at Love Like Crazy.

I was so excited when I saw Rebecca's post for this site! I think it is an awesome idea for all of us to learn from each other and to get/give encouragement. I especially would like to encourage those who homeschool or are thinking of homeschooling a child with "learning differences" or a "learning disability". Homeschooling a child who learns differently (anybody have a better word for this??) can be rewarding and discouraging..all in the same 15 minutes! Ha!  I'm hoping to find others out there who share the same struggles that I do...so we can lift each other up!  

Okay...this is my homeschooling past: My oldest is Katie (21).  She is a Sr. in college this year.  I homeschooled her for half of her 4th grade year.  Lexie (15) is in the 10th grade.  Gannon (13) is in the 7th grade.  I homeschooled Lexie during her 5th grade year and Gannon was homeschooled for his 1st and 2nd grade years. Garrison (11) is in the 5th grade. He has been homeschooled for 5 yrs....the last 3 being consecutive. Garrison is the only one I am homeschooling right now.  Gannon and Lexie are in a private school.  We have also had our children in public school before. We've done it all!  :o)

Garrison has been diagnosed with Developmental Aphasia. His main "challenge" is expressive language and memory. My first two years of homeschooling him was not at all what I had planned for it to be like!! We struggled through each and every day.  Lots of tears (mainly from ME) and lots of questioning if I had heard the Lord correctly on homeschooling. I have learned to take one year at a time and trust that the Lord will guide us correctly.  He hasn't ever failed us!

Looking forward to getting to know all of you and learning from you!

Our Intro

My name is Rebecca, we live in the beautiful Midwest and that is my wonderful family pictured above: my husband Andy, with our 2 year old son Grant on his back, and our 3 daughters: Loren, 10; Emily, 8; and Claire, 5. We also have a 2 year old son, 5 months older than Grant, waiting for us in China. We have named him Owen and he will hopefully be home late fall.

This is our first year homeschooling. But, let me back up... I was homeschooled myself all the way through high school. When I was growing up, it was almost unheard of to educate your children at home. In that way, I guess my parents had a bit of rebel in them (must be where I got it!!) :)

We started our school year Sept. 2. Loren is in 5th grade, Emily in 3rd and Claire in K. So far, it has been wonderful, although we are only a few days in! I love having the kids with me. I am very blessed to have wonderful children who I really enjoy being around. That is not to pat myself on the back, but to give God thanks because He really blessed us with good kids.

For curriculum... we are eclectic this year. I am using a variety and I won't bore you with listing it all out, at least not here. I borrowed all but 1 of our books from a homeschool lending library that we have here locally. We have some Alpha/Omega, some A Beka, some Saxon, some Charlotte Mason... overall I'm shooting for a classical approach but honestly I am not following any one method, book, curriculum, etc. Just trying to make sure my kids are well-rounded. Here is a post on my personal blog about our first day of school, if you want to get an idea of what we are studying.

Besides homeschooling, I juggle a home business, our adoption, and keeping up with our busy toddler... soon to be toddler(S)... and laundry, which never seems to end! Hoping to cross paths with other moms who can encourage me to keep at it!! I'm glad to have Tisra posting, as she is a constant inspiration to me and a good friend.

Contributor Profile- Tisra

Hello!

I am tickled to be participating in Rebecca's newest online project.  She is great at rallying others to bond over common interest for the purpose of encouragement and community!

My name is Tisra.  The rest of my family includes my husband of ten years, Eric, and our three children: Grant (8), Dean (5), and Lael (3).  We are currently in the process of adding another child through international adoption.  Our journey to adopt from Taiwan began over two years ago, we have been waiting on the list with our agency for 16 months, and it is a surprise when our little blessing will make an appearance!  Saying "surprise" makes the wait seem like fun, don't you think?  Seriously, though, we hope for a referral by years' end and to travel sometime next year.  Depending how we are matched, our daughter could be 6 months- 2 1/2 years old by the time she comes home.  God knows, and we trust Him with it all.

This year, we are homeschooling our children.  Grant is in 3rd grade, Dean is in kindergarten, and Lael is working on gathering normal preschool knowledge through play and short activities at the school table with her brothers.  We have previously participated in a homeschool academy offered by our church (Grant's K and 1st grade years).  Then last year, Grant attended our local public school.  Mostly, we are using Sonlight curriculum (Core 1).  I am doing grade specific Language Arts (3rd and K through Sonlight), and grade specific math (Primer and Gamma Math-U-See).  We are currently on our 5th week of homeschool.

My goal in participating in this blog is to be a realistic encouragement to those walking this same path.  I'm not perfect.  My days aren't all rosy.  But, I am already seeing the fruit in my children I set out to help grow.  And I think that is the main point- each person has a "mission statement" for why they are considering homeschool or doing homeschool.  I urge you to gather tips, techniques, and encouragement for the advancement of your specific homeschool goal or mission- and leave the rest behind, resisting the temptation to compare.  One of the easiest paths to discouragement and frustration over homeschooling comes about because we convince ourselves that we aren't doing it "right" or that some other family is better at homeschooling and has it more "together".  Friends, be free from that!

I can also be found here and here.