Even though our kids have been going to Japanese school, we've had to supplement English schooling at home. It worked the best for us to wake up early and get over 1 hour of grammar, reading comprehesion, writing and spelling in before they headed off to school at 8:20am. No, it wasn't easy to get up early (which meant all of us going to bed early), especially in the winter. I coaxed them out of bed with a promise of a mug of hot chocolate. We would often read from our Science textbook a little in the evening.We just got our test scores back and they've done well. Since we were a little behind last fall in a few areas, we were really encouraged. Yea, our hard work paid off.
Even though the kids were rejoicing to have no more home schooling (yes, running around the house ripping pages from our finished workbook) I have to admit I was a little sad. When I started to teach our oldest to read 10 years ago, I had no idea what was in store for us.
It was often a struggle to patiently motivate them, as well as find the right workbooks and curriculum for our unique situation. At times I felt like I was floundering on my own. But, God graciously got us through and taught me to depend on Him so I could have the needed faithfulness, discipline and wisdom. I've enjoyed learning new things with my kids and being a vital part of their lives. It is with humble thankfulness and great memories that this chapter of our family life comes to a close.
