It hardly seems possible to me that I have a four-year-old–let alone one who is so eager to learn that she’s reading at the age of FOUR–but here I am.  My superman and I have always intended to home-educate our children and we’re getting so close to that momentous FIRST that I feel like we’ve really entered the prepping phase.

Over the years since my formal education ended, I’ve taken free college classes online and read hundreds of books on whatever subjects I found interesting, but with the time ticking ever onward to that “First Grade” for Sophia, I’m dusting off my pencils and heading in a new, specific direction: Preschool.

While Sophia is preschool age and well grounded in those traditionally “preschool” endeavors, in this post I’m talking about preschool for a home educating mother.  While part of my purpose this year is absolutely to prepare Sophia for her education, my larger goal is to prepare myself.  I am so excited about the prospect of getting a front row seat to watch my children develop and their interests expand, but I am under no illusions–the coming years will be some of the most challenging of our lives. In light of that, I am considering this period of time before first grade to be a preparatory time for me.

My goal is to read everything I can about homeschooling now, and settle on a general plan.  Chances are, any plans I make now will change over the years as I learn the kids’ individual learning styles, but I want to be as prepared as I can be for this coming marathon even as I make certain the kids are prepared as well.

We want to give our children a classical education that will turn them out at 18 or 19 fully equipped to go into the world and move mountains.  My base plan is grounded in the ideas presented by Susan Wise Bauer in ‘The Well-Trained Mind’.  I’m still reading it and taking copious notes right now, but will move on to a few other books about education as well.  I’m also reading “What Is Family” by Edith Schaeffer.  It doesn’t have so much to do with homeschooling, but it has some really good perspectives for a mother and the roles one fills as a stay-at-home mother.

Those two books really sum up my idea of what my personal education will entail during this last year and change before the real circus begins.  1) Outward Education–things that will go into developing and delivering a great education to my kids; 2) Inward Education–things that help me to develop and prepare MYSELF to educate my children.

Next on my reading list are: “A Thomas Jefferson Education”, “How Children Learn”, “Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics”, “Everyday Calculus: Discovering the Hidden Math All Around Us”

I’m open to suggestions!  Have you read a fantastic book about home education?  Let me know in the comments!