An Improper Introduction!

Being new to blogging I, like many others, have a difficult time trying to figure out where to begin so I will go with the simplest choice. Introductions! 

My name is Lauren Myers. I am a mother to three little boys. Benjamin who is currently seven years young, Ethan who is currently four, and Joshua who will be turning three next month. My husband, Nathan and I decided before the boys were born that we both really liked the advantages to homeschooling our kids, and made the plunge right smack in the middle of the holidays. I believe the exact date was literally December 3rd, 2014. Like many new homeschooling parents do, the first thing I did was head to the nearest home school store and purchase curriculum books. Looking back, I can't say it was a mistake. Benjamin is only in 2nd Grade, and the books I chose had fun characters and covered all the bases. In fact, without the books, I do not know if he would have gotten ANY education the first couple of months! It was a nice starting point, and it keep him busy for a little while, but it just wasn't right for him, or our family. 

You see Nathan...well, Nathan likes to talk, a lot. And he's very good at it! He has taught Bible to children at church and in a Men's Group, and he was a O.T.R (Over The Road) Truck Driving Trainer for many many years. He has experience teaching, and he teaches by talking.

I on the other hand I do not have experience teaching, other than what I learn while parenting my kids. (Which may I add, has been a lot and is growing more and more everyday!) But when I envisioned homeschooling my kids, it was meant to be fun! It was meant to be a journey for all of us, and I was determined to make learning fun for my children, because lets face it, it wasn't fun for me growing up. I want as much of the educating to be hands-on as possible! I want there to be open discussions! Most of all, I want my kids to learn naturally (with a little direction). 

So what is the best way to do that? What type of homeschoolers are we? Heck, I don't know. The truth is, we are a little of everything. When Nathan wants to lecture, discuss, draw charts or whatever it is that wonderful man wants to do, we do it. When its pretty outside we go out and play and keep our minds and eyes open for something fun we can turn into education. We play learning games inside with flash cards or whatever else we can make. We read chapter books and draw pictures of what happened out of the book. We plant plants, and learn different cycles. We cook, we clean, and we have fun and we try our best to get along and survive one day at a time without killing one another or going crazy! That is what education is like in our house. Some days are more structured than others, and other days there is no structure at all! 

So if you are reading this blog, just know that here, there is no right or wrong way to home-school. We have an open mind, and love changing things up for our kids. I hope that some of my posts encourage you to try new things, not give up on the hard days, (you know which ones I'm talking about) and try to relax when it comes to homeschooling!  It doesn't have to be serious all the time! Education can be fun, we just need to take it a day at a time!