Team Reed: Box Day!

After much prayer, thought and research, we've decided to switch homeschool curriculums again this year. I really enjoyed both the ones I've used in the last two years, for different reasons. They were each what I needed for the year that I used them. And it was interesting to see that each year as it came time to choose, it would be between the same three. Both years we almost went with Sonlight, but for various reasons chose something else.

This May, Josh and I got to go to the homeschool conference in Winston-Salem. It was dreamy...for many reasons. A weekend away with my husband...always a treat! Great food...too many good restaurants to choose from in our short time there. A cool local coffee shop, that served up mid-afternoon treats like this...yum!

Great friends to hang with that were also there for the conference, a chance to explore a fun new city, and then of course, the conference itself!

I'm a visual person, so to have access to a gigantic room full of books and resources to look through and compare side by side was an absolute dream for me. Plus, there were consultants there to talk with. And talk we did!

Especially here, at Sonlight's booth.

We've been drawn to Sonlight for years now, and to have someone who knows it inside-out, and has used it for years to help us process through all our questions was invaluable. And God is so good...He allowed us to talk with a Sonlight consultant there who is a mother of five, whose husband planted a church, who has homeschooled her children using Sonlight for YEARS. Yes!! So we literally spent hours talking with her,

about homeschool and so much more...

Along with all her great insight, hearing that Sonlight is

Christ-centered,

literature-based,

history-focused,

missions-minded

homeschool curriculum was sweet confirmation from the Lord that this was the way to go for our family.

We came home from Winston-Salem praising God for how faithful He is to answer prayer, and how He cares about every detail in our lives, no matter how small!

Our desire going in to the conference was to find a curriculum we could stick with long-term; one that would fit in with who Josh and I are as followers of Christ and the core convictions we share because of our faith; one that would fit with how we are raising and shepherding our children; one that could easily incorporate multiple children of different ages; and one that would be engaging and challenging so that they develop a life-long love of learning!

Decision made, curriculum ordered! Sonlight it is!

I'm so excited for this school year to begin!

*I had asked Kate at the end of 2nd grade what she enjoyed about it and what she'd like to do differently for 3rd grade. She said she wanted to read more books this next year (not surprising!!) and study history (her favorite).

And this week, the long awaited box arrived...