When your blog post had one title but totally morphed into something else...also about how we found All About Reading

Y'all, I really would shout it from the rooftops...if that was a real thing.
My son was a late reader.
Read that as...L.A.T.E. Reader.
I was sooo very worried about it.
I felt like a failure.
I felt like (in the words of a naysayer) I was "Ruining His Education For Life".
I thought I was failing him.
I felt like everything hinged on his love of reading...or lack thereof.
I was embarrassed.
I prayed that no one would ask him to read aloud.
I just prayed for a miracle.
Mostly I just Prayed and in private...I cried.
A lot.

Have you had those moments? 
Those moments when you look at these perfect Homeschooled children...feeling, well...less than. 
You know what I mean by "The perfect ones". 
The ones speaking two or more languages. 
The ones who are reading Harry Potter, with apparent ease...mind you...at 7 years old. 
The ones doing high level math in 3rd grade. 
They never fight. 
They eat ALL of their vegetables without complaint. 
You KNOW the ones.
 ...The ones we make up in our mind to torture ourselves... 
The ones that we conjure up in our most insecure moments of doubt. 
Are there ridiculously gifted kids that are homeschooled?...yes. 
Guess what...They are in public school too. 
There are kids that learning, learning anything...just comes easily. 
I don't, however, believe that they are EVERYwhere.
Not the way that I came up with in my mind.
I don't think we should be comparing our day to day with theirs. 
Comparison is the thief of Joy. 
The End.

You see, we are super bad about comparing our day to day with the highlight reel that is shown publicly by others.  That is a FACT and you can take it to the bank.

You know I am right.

Well, I am not about pretending to be anything I am not.  Not anymore.  I am not perfect.  I don't have all the answers.  I fail myself and my kids...a lot.  I, also, acknowledge it. Y'all, I have SUPER STAR educators in my family.  The kind that all elementary teachers know their names...and I was terrified they would find out that He couldn't read, yet.  The thing is...I never should have been afraid of their judgment and I should have just asked their advice.  I didn't.  Instead, I distanced myself from that side of the family...because I decided that they were judging my decision to homeschool my kids.  I don't know.  They might have been.  I never asked.  Real mature, right?  So we floundered and we tried several "sure fire" curriculum suggestions that didn't work. I did a lot  of things wrong.

So, what did I do right?  I have friends in my homeschool world that I felt comfortable enough to talk to...about anything.  I'm talking to you Julie...and she gave me the Golden Ticket.  She introduced me to All About Reading.  A literal GOD SEND.  Julie and the curriculum.  Both.  I swear.

So what did I learn?  I learned that we need to STOP comparing ourselves with imaginary competitors.  We need to NOT assume that we can't ask for help.  We need to LEAN on each other for support.  We need to TRUST our instincts and be willing to change what we are doing. One of the best things we are given by the gift of homeschooling is the ability to adapt and change for our kids.  We are not bound to one way, one curriculum, or one methodology.  We can mix it up.  We can change to meet the needs of our students and that is just what I did.

Y'all, let me tell you that my son took to All About Reading like a fish to water.  It was exactly what he needed and one day it was like a light bulb went off.  Exactly.  I started him with Level One.  I figured...I would just hope for the best and go at whatever speed he needed.  Some days we breezed through the lessons and other days we took as much time as needed.  I will share a link for their website...they can explain their methodology much, much better than I can.  All I know is that it WORKS!  You can reach their website by following this link: www.allaboutreading.com

This is just a simple picture.  Nothing special...except that this photo is the FIRST time my son chose a book on his own and read it voluntarily.  So many tears of happiness were shed on this day...in private...as not to embarrass him.  This is a direct result of All about Reading.  I swear...it was a God Send. 

I thank the Lord for Julie and All About Reading.  So, if you are feeling at a loss...know that there will be something that will work for your child.  Isn't it a beautiful thing that we have the ablitity to choose? 

Blessings,
Cheer