….for the past 5 years.

Munroe Palms Learning Centre “officially” began in Jan. 2007.

-Let me elaborate-

2007

CJ (our 1st born son) was attending a Church run PreSchool in the fall of 2006. (I had worked there as a teacher prior to the birth of the twins.) When we moved, the drive back and forth ended up being longer than his time in the half-day program there.
So, after the Christmas break he did @Home PreSchool in Jan. 2007.
2008

We enrolled CJ in the Voluntary PreKindergarten Program “VPK” in the fall of 2007 at a local Church PreSchool. After the first week he was wondering why none of the other children knew how to write their name or even any letters and he wanted to learn how to read.
So, after the Christmas break he stayed at home and we did Kindergarten @home in Jan. 2008.

-are you beginning to see a pattern here?-

2009

There was a local Christian Private School I had checked out. My neighbor’s daughter went there and they would accept him into 1st grade. WooooHooo!
He began attending there in the fall of 2008. While I did PreSchool @ home with the twins + two other little boys.
-guess what?-

We began to realize the school may not have been a good fit for CJ. He was thriving academically & even the boys in the 5th and 6th grade classes were saying “bye” to him when I picked him up.
-Is that what you call a “social butterfly?-

But, by the end of November it was clear, that this school was not the best environment for CJ.
I must confess, this did not sit well with me. I was looking forward to a “quieter” weekday. I thought we should give it another try. You know, at least until the end of December. But…….
-do you know what’s coming?-

We didn’t even make it to the Christmas Holiday. That 1st week in December it was Crystal Clear. The best learning environment at that time for our CJ was back at home.
So, he came home two weeks before Christmas break and after the New Year he did 1st grade @home along with the 4 PreSchoolers in Jan. 2009.

2010

In the fall of 2009, KC & KJ were eligible for the VPK Program. So, they went to a different Church run PreSchool and had a BLAST. It was GREAT for their speech development to spend 2 hours each day communicating with somebody else.
Meanwhile, CJ was doing 2nd grade @home but, I kinda’ became a worksheet drill sargent.
-not my finest hour. I mean, year.-

Anyhow, after the New Year in Jan. 2010 we trudged along through the “school year.” OR should I more accurately say I dragged him.

more 2010

In the fall of 2010 I was revved up and ready to go. Excited & nervous to be “officially” HomeSchooling all my children.
Yeah!
Ooooooooorrrrrrr…… Not so much.
I kind of choked under the pressure. We made progress but, not as much as I would have liked. We had a few too many “jammie days” and lots of enrichment activities.
However, as we reached the end of December we came to the end of some other responsibilities we had and I began to reflect on our HomeSchool journey.

2011

As January began I realized how God had had to “knock some sense” into me. I began to focus more intently on what was most important for our students.
For us All, that meant BIBLE: beginning our school day with Bible Study and Prayer again.
-duh!-

For KC & KJ that meant PHONICS: teaching them to read, because they SO VERY wanted to be able to read a book on their own.
For CJ that meant MATH: finding the way to teach him they way He needed to be taught.

By the end of May it was
MISSION: ACCOMPLISHED

•We were able to go to our state’s annual Home School Conference.
•KC & KJ received their very own Bible. (The NIrV Adventurers Bible. The same as CJ. And because this mummy realized it is important for everyone to have the same translation.)
-double duh!-

•& CJ was able to finally begin to use the Teaching Textbooks Math 4 that we had and he had been wanting to use.

We had a relatively lazy summer. Only averaging two/three days of school each week. We are now ready to get back into the swing of things.