Let's see....I have four boys. 11,8,6, and 17 months old. I was homeschooling for a bit but truly felt that God wanted me to put my children back in public school. I have yet to find out if that is permanent, or temporary. On September 16, 2005, my fourth son was born. However, he wasn't supposed to be born until October 20th. He was quite a bit early. Hence, he did have to spend time in the NICU, and has a lot of medical issues still to this day. When he was just a couple months old, he contracted RSV. A potentially fatal respiratory virus that destroys little lungs. His lungs weren't the healthiest to begin with, so now, he has severe asthma and other respiratory issues. When I homeschooled, my baby was going through 2-3 severe asthma attacks a day. Turning blue, unable to breathe...I'd remain calm, tell the children everything is okay, and to pray so they'd feel better, but their anxiety went through the roof. I suddenly saw my happy boys, turning into negative, scared children. They were constantly worried about the baby. My husband and I tried our best to educate them, to no avail. Their schoolwork suffered on most days as well because at his worst, he needed to have breathing treatments through a machine every 3 hours which required my complete attention. When I did sit down to teach, and have reading time with the children, another attack would suddenly happen and I had no choice but to leave the children immediately and go to the baby. I finally realized how much it was hurting my children to see their baby brother struggle every day like this, so I put them back in school. They are much happier now, and seem much more relaxed. Praise be to God, they all ended up with Christian teachers who support their belief in God and even are brave enough to mention God in the classrooms.
Part of why I am writing, is because we know that homeschooling is a good thing, and there is no other option for our toddler. His medical issues and lower immune system just won't be able to handle the germ infested public schools. So, I've actually already started "homeschooling" the baby. Yes, I believe we are "homeschooling" from birth. But I've started with some flash cards, some educational Christian based DVD's like Boz, and am getting him a membership to a toddler class him and I can attend once a month that is a sort of science class for toddlers. I'm hoping to 1. Be told it's okay to have my other children in public school (I lost two dear friends because of their objections to it despite the fact that they saw everything the baby was going through) and 2. To make friends with other moms who are "homeschooling" their toddlers.
It would be even better to find some in my area (Oregon) so our toddler could have some playmates.
Oh, I suppose I should say that I am homeschooling the older three after school every day with Bible lessons.
I look forward to hearing from you!
