My New Blog

Welcome to my New Blog.

I am Stefanie, a new blogspot transplant. In my previous blog-life, I was over at Homeschool Blogger, which I loved, but I once my loveable yet demanding Kayleigh arrived, I needed an easier format. Hopefully this will be easier.

I will say that I am not enjoying the inability to cut and paste things. Maybe I'm missing something...feel free to clue me in. Nevermind, I figured it out, I have to switch over to HTML. Got it! LOL

I am a proud military wife to my wonderful husband, Kevin, and a stay-at-homeschooling mommy to 2 beautiful little girls...Mackenzie (8) and Kayleigh (17 months), and, of course, daughter of The King. (And no I don't mean Michael Jackson or Elvis. LOL) But that is how I know that I really am a princess like I always tell everyone. o)

Here we are...almost a year ago...Kayleigh's bigger now LOL


We are about to start our 5th year as a homeschooling family. Homeschooling was not in our original "family plan" , I'm a former PS teacher after all, but God used a move to Guam to put it in our plan and we've been loving it ever since.

Homeschooling has been a real blessing for our family. It allows us to put our family first. With a husband who is ALWAYS deploying, it's nice to be able to take time off around his schedule without worrying about pulling anyone out of school. And I really couldn't imagine having to miss so much of my child's life.

And of course there are the obvious benefits...one-on-one instruction, tailoring their education to suit their learning styles, going as fast or as slowly as their needs dictate, more time for socializing, going to Busch Gardens while the rest of you are stuck at school/work. That last one is one of my favorites. =o) Nothing like not having to wait in long lines or vacationing in the middle of October. Have you been to Disney the week after Thanksgiving? Awesome!!!

I went through many, many language arts and math programs until I found what really clicked with Mackenzie's learning style. What I would've given to be able to do that as a classroom teacher. I can't tell you how many times I've run across a new curriculum option and thought, "Oh that would've been perfect for...insert former students name here...S/he'd have really learned well with that."

But homeschooling isn't for everyone. There is a lot of sacrificing involved. There are no breaks without the kids, there's always someone messing up the house, you pay for their education totally out-of-pocket while living on a single income, shopping alone is almost non-existent, there is a lot of wear-and-tear on the car because of the 8 billion extra activities you can participate in when school only takes a few hours. And I recall, in a past life, hearing something about "me time". I can't recall exactly though. LOL It's even rarer for a military spouse.

Well, it looks like this "intro" post turned into a "why I love homeschooling" post. I even love the