We are embarking on a new adventure.....

And we are excited... And, possibly, a wee bit nervous! But we know that, no matter what, it will be fun and it will be worth it!

So, what is this adventure? Well, I'll tell ya! lol

Back in the middle of summer, our youngest daughter, Amy, a rising 8th grader, came to me, and her dad, and said she didn't want to return to public school. That took us by surprise because she seemed to love school and she excelled while there. She was an Honor Roll student, taking many Honors classes, and she was a member of the band. We questioned her decision and we gave her ample time to rethink it. During that time, I began my research. Her dad, and I, also questioned ourselves, wondering if this would be the right thing for her and would we be up to the challenge. The answer was yes.

As the parents of 5, homeschooling is something we have wanted to do for a very long time. Of course we were met with negative comments, so we never pursued it because we just didn't think it would be worth the hassle we knew we would receive from those outside of our household. Well, our 4 older children are no longer children. They are adults and making their own way in this world. They are all very smart but, looking back now, we really wish we wouldn't have let what others would think, or say, decide for us how they should have been taught. I made a conscious decision, that should Amy be determined to be homeschooled, that it would be our decision only and based solely on what she wants and not on what others may think or say.

So, here we are. It has been several weeks since she came to us and she took all the time that she needed to be sure of her decision. She stuck to her guns and said she wants to be homeschooled. I then did what was necessary to make that possible. We chose to go with Option III and I found a state accredited Association to register with. Paperwork was filed and she has been removed from public school. It is all legal.

On September 4th, Amy will begin her 8th grade year at A.G. Manley Academy as the only registered student, but she won't be the only one learning. I expect that Eric, and I, will be learning right alongside her because, in our endeavor to challenge her, we will also be challenging ourselves.

We will be using the Eclectic Method which, in a nutshell, means that we will be taking a bit of all Option III methods and putting them to use, allowing Amy to learn what she wants alongside her core subjects. This is going to be great!

In closing, I would like to leave you with Amy's words. The following is what she posted on her FaceBook page when she announced she wouldn't be returning to public school and a friend asked her where she was going:

I'm not going anywhere, I'm just doing something else..I'm sick of wasting a lot of my life in school learning the same thing over and over again, I wanna learn other stuff, stuff that will be relevant to what I want to do in my future. That pretty much explains it.

Until Next Time.....

PS: For any that may be concerned that Amy will be isolated, and have no one to socialize with, well... don't be! She will be joining groups and socializing with other homeschool kids. And, keep in mind, she does have other friends that she will still socialize with!