Mothers Speak p.2

Mothers Speak

I was sitting on the floor with my oldest daughter the first time she read a word. She was sooooo proud of herself! I called my husband, who was at work at the time, bawling my eyes out because I got to be there to see the glow on her face when she knew she could read. I still get tears just remembering how magical that moment was. Since then there have been several amazing moments I am glad I didn't give away to a professional teacher. I get to be the one to see my kids with the "light bulb" moments as they learn. - Pam Opp, UT

I made my six-year-old son's bed into a fort. He has a handmade frame that's in two pieces so I stood them on their sides, put the mattress on the floor, and pinned blankets over the top and the side away from the wall. I surprised my son with it and then we got in. I lay there for a few seconds and I told him it was a reading fort. He jumped out and picked up a couple of books. The first one we read is called Button Soup. No more reading -- now we are making button soup!
P.S. Since then my son's interest in reading has increased. We read for an hour and a half last night, and he kept pointing out words and phrases he could read! - Lorrie Ramsay

As my oldest got closer to kindergarten age my mom (a teacher) gave me a copy of a checklist that public school teachers use to determine if a child has ADD. My daughter would definitely have been labeled such by her teacher and I would have been pressured to put her on medication. I knew she didn't need this; she just needed to move more and do more. She has such a beautiful spirit -- I couldn't send her somewhere to have it damaged; so the decision was prayed about, confirmed, and we've never looked back. We love homeschooling. Our children are thriving. They're learning so much, and I get the blessing of being right there to watch them learn to read -- and so much more; and I can answer questions to bring what they learn back to the Lord and help them see how He is the center of everything. Not every day is amazing, but every day has something amazing happen in it that makes me so thankful that we are blessed to be able to do this. - Tonya Stevens, UT