Hi there!

As you guessed it, we are a Noir (Black) Homeschooling family. •C• and I have been married for 7 crazy-fun years and we’ve been graced with two wonderful daughters. I am so blessed to be a Stay-at-home mama to them! Dream come true!  •E• is our oldest child at 4. She is and extremely strong-willed girl that enjoys nature and the arts. She speaks her heart and will test the limits of her parents all.the.time. I know she going to have such a strong drive and passion in whatever she decides to do when she gets older. No is not an answer to her, only a temporary roadblock! We have started the HS (home school) journey with her officially as of June 2015. •N• is just a babe at 4 months old and currently enjoys sleeping, nursing and spouting off occasionally during school! I see that •N• is going to learn so much from her big sister! I cannot wait to watch it unfold. 

In terms of our teaching style, I simply do not have one at this moment. You could say I’m wingin’ it–and I’m okay with that! We are a vegan family so all meal prep  is done at home.  I use cooking and baking as a “lesson” at times as it incorporates following directives/listening skills, using a recipe, measuring, math, motor skills, patience and confidence! The reward from these everyday tasks will give them the feeling of accomplishment. Age-appropriate chores and tasks helps with becoming responsible and accountable for their actions. Believe me, I want them to stay “kids” and keep their innocence as long as I can, however these small things are the foundation to showing a child they have a contribution to give. That is spoken in the most positive way and by no means in a servant manner. As the main HS parent, I do not want any pressure to conform to any particular style/method/curriculum at this moment as I intend to create my own. Since I have such a young babe and started HS right after her birth, I didn’t have a ton of time to devote to planning. Out of frustration from looking at so many curriculums and pure impatience, I chose to start Horizons by Alpha & Omega initially. I thought that having it planned would take some weight off my shoulder with the new baby and recently purchasing our new home. I received the books and couldn’t wait to dive in. I was throughly disappointed because I felt like I was a standard “teacher” while looking and reading the text. I wanted this to be fun and engaging and this simply wasn’t for me. Worksheets and lots of religion/bible studies I felt went over her little 4 year-old-head. Much of the first workbook is remedial for her and many days I skip several lessons to give her something a little more challenging. I do understand that not every 4 year-old is at the same level, so this product is capable of working wonders for others! I still use the workbooks and I don’t even crack open the teacher’s guide much. I’m feeling like she would be better off doing unit studies lap books right now–and maybe that is due to her advancement. Again, I will pick and choose what is suitable and continue on our year-round schedule for HS. I chose year-round for 1) flexibility and 2) retainment of information.  Use it or lose it is how I see it! Although we are not required to document this pre-k year, I figured I’d do a dry-run a year before we must start to legally report. This time will give me the opportunity to tweak things and gather more info about •E’s• learning style and the best way I can educate her. I know things won’t always run smoothly, but if I can position myself maybe I can head some things off.

Why are we HS family? Well it’s pretty simple–We feel there is no better teacher than ourselves! I’ve bern teaching •E• since she was born and I know I am more than enough to continue and show them the gift and love of learning. I have the wonderful support of my husband and a close set of friends to help push and cheer me on in those days I might sevond guess myself. Unfortunately, our family is not seeing eye-to-eye with us, but they will see the goodness that will flow for themselves. My husband and I want to instill in our girls (and subsequent kiddos) pride in their rich culture and the ability to learn about any thing they desire at their own pace. Being able to learn and discover a topic in detail by field trips and library visits to gather more information is wonderful! Creating a foundation is what we seek to do in our home. Unfortunately here and many places in this county, school is not the “exceptional ” place it once was or maybe it never has been. The school system is not the conducive for our young noir children as well. Far too many are falling through the cracks of a system that was not designed with them in mind. Teaching my kiddos from a Noir perspective is our motivation. Instilling beliefs and values that we hold dear and creating a mentally, spiritually, and academically well-rounded children, just to name a few. Children are subjected to so many things that are inappropriate for their young minds to even worry about. I don’t want any school  or teacher to subject my children to anything I’m not ready for them to know at certain ages. It is the job of the parents to teach and educate on them. I think far too many people give their children over to schools way too easily. I know there are dire situation where it is not possible to homeschool full-time, but after- school or HS co-ops will still allow for you to work.  Where there is a will, there is a way!

While we finish up the Horizons material, I will be working on some lapbooks that introduce our young Noir princess to notable Noir figures. In addition to that, I will be creating a few Noir-centered lapbooks on “all about me,” body systems, a few animals and some nature/outdoor pieces before winter greets us. I’m the creative type, so this will be a cake-walk! One day I hope to create materials that I can sell online for others who crave the Noir approach but might not have the time or patience to create materials. If you would like help I this area feel free to contact me and we can discuss your needs. I look forward to connecting with other families and going forth hand-in-hand educating the next generation of leaders!

In Noir Love,

NoirMama