My homeschool journey first began back in 1986 when I started homeschooling my sons who were in the 10th and 4th grade. Homeschooling them would continue until they graduated in the '90's. My heart was still homeschooling and I continued to coordinate support groups and activities and work with homeschooling families. In 2001, I felt it was time to retire.
Needless to say I was thrilled when my grandson asked me to teach him to read. I had always wished that we had one more child to homeschool from the beginning and here he was - my grandson.
We started with Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and then bought a Hooked on Phonics set. We were off and running and he was beginning to read in 6 weeks!
To me, reading is the key to a child's future. You can travel the world, meet famous people, and learn about anything and everything. This was a great incentive to begin teaching my grandson. He just wanted to read - it has opened the world up to us both.
At the age of 8, his reading presented a challenge for us because he can't seem to stop! We have had to curtail reading such as bedtime when he is up past 10 pm secretly reading or when he has books hidden in the bathroom and the line is forming outside the door.
When he was 4 years old, I was unsure of how long we would be able to homeschool. Also being concerned about his future education, I then moved on to basic math facts. I wanted to give him a good foundation in case he should attend public school. By the time our first unofficial year ended, my grandson was too advanced for our local kindergarten class. So we just had to homeschool "one more year."
We have been homeschooling for five years now, taking one year at a time. His father pays for everything. Being a stay-at-home grandma allows me to be a full time teacher again. His engineering grandfather helps with the electronics subjects, drafting and building things. I handle the main subjects, field trips and co-op classes. My grandson teaches me how to build with Legos which has led me to teach some classes at our co-op, Learning with Legos.
We homeschool one year at a time and over time we might have the opportunity to continue homeschooling until graduation. I am so thankful for the time I have had. My grandson and I have a very special relationship, often more like mother and son. We have many special memories, too.
~ Chris
Meet Grandma Ethel: Wow what a joy!
