Learning about Life, Learning about Him, Teaching about Life, Teaching about Him
This may certify me as crazy, but I always looked forward to the first day of school as a kid. I loved the newness of it all: new lunchbox, new outfit, new teacher, etc. Apparently I haven’t really grown out of the fondness for “newness” at the beginning of the year. When I decided that I wanted new forms to record grades, it led to the creation of nine new free printable homeschool planning forms.
Read moreGreetings! I created this blog with the desire to pass on any knowledge I have learned about living this homeschooling lifestyle. I strongly believe that we benefit greatly by sharing tips, resources and ideas with one another. My hope is that something you find here can help you in your journey.
I’m a former preschool teacher and elementary school teacher. I’m also a mom of eight, who never planned on being a mom of many. God, however, has a way of taking what we have designed for our lives and turning that plan completely around.
My husband and I had three biological kids when we entered the world of adoption. Little did we know at that time how much of that world we would experience. We started the process for our first “Made in China” kiddo in 2005. It would take five years to bring her home. In that time, we had another biological “Made in the USA” child.
We would go on to adopt three more times between 2010 and 2014. When we brought our girls home in 2014, my youngest five kids were aged five years and younger (my three oldest were 14, 12 and 10). It was madness, but somehow we managed to “survive and thrive.”
I began my homeschooling journey when my oldest son was four years old. Homeschooling was definitely a new concept for me at the time. Before I had any kids, my plan was to stay at home with the two kids that I would have (remember how my life plans changed?) until they became school aged. I would then go back to work teaching at the same school they attended.
That plan got thrown out when one of my 5th grade students said to me, “Mrs. Froisland, do you know I spend more time with you than with my dad?” I decided that I did not want anyone to spend more time or exert more influence on my kids than my husband or me.
In some ways, being a classroom teacher made it more difficult to transition to homeschooling. I “retired” from teaching before I had my first child, so I did have a number of years to research out this crazy homeschooling gig before I tried it on my own. What I found, is that you can take a teacher out of a classroom, but it’s difficult to take the classroom out of the teacher.
It took a while for me to find the right balance, and I’m still learning! Every year I tweak curriculum or schedules just a bit as life changes. The only must in homeschooling is that you must be flexible!
The name of the blog is a bit of a play on words. For one, I am a learner of “His” life. As a follower of Christ, I will spend the rest of my life learning to be more like Him. I am also “His” in that I belong to the One who created me and sustains me.
I hope you can benefit from something He has taught me as you join me for this journey!