Insecurities

We are starting our homeschooling year here pretty soon. I have not blogged about it because, quite frankly, I am rather insecure about it. I have never liked to be the odd one out, though I pretty much always am so should be used to it by now! After researching different theories/methods of homeschooling (my research started with THIS great article) and much prayer, I/we decided on an eclectic/CharlotteMason (CM) type method for our family. I got a WONDERFUL book called 'Educating the WholeHearted Child' by Clay and Sally Clarkson. I have found it to be very informative and it really addressed what I was wanting for our home school. I did not want to just bring public school home, I didn't want school to be a drudgery, and I wanted it to fit with who we are and how we live. I wanted it to be Christ centered and I did not want them getting mixed messages from their curriculum and what we teach them (e.g. creation versus evolution). I perused homeschooling forums and looked at tons of stuff online and I kept coming across 'My Father's World' curriculum. It takes a CM approach but has everything lined out for me. I am just not ready to do it all "from scratch" yet! :o) We are also doing ABeka math and I will add a couple extra activities as well.
I guess what makes me insecure about it is that, after much research and prayer, I came to this conclusion but none of the other HS families that I know have. Now, I will be the first to tell you, the beauty of homeschooling is that you can tailor it to your family and your kids as individuals, but it is still awkward to be alone in my convictions. Once again I see just how different our family is from those around us, don't get me wrong; differences can be good......... but sometimes it would be nice to find a family that was really like-minded in some of the areas that are so important to me. Somebody to compare notes and booklists, share ideas and exploration days, etc..... with. It would be fun for the kids to have other kids doing similar studies to theirs......... I think the longing for a friend and the insecurities of doing this alone are greater because of our current living situation. With less than 500sq ft for the 5 of us I can't set up our learning area the way I want. I struggle to do things if they are not set up "just so" before hand. If I don't have things lined up and in order I get fearful that, once again, I will fail. It seems as if having someone walking the same homeschooling path with me would lesson my chance of failure..... Silly, but that's how I see it........

Anyhow, depending on what my sweet hubby says about certain business paperwork that I have to do.... We will either start tomorrow or next Thurs. My kids CAN'T wait!!!