A Peaceful Preschool

We sat down at the kitchen table this past summer, my husband and I, asking, “What do we want down deep for our family?” Our oldest daughter was 3, we had welcomed our son into the world in January, we were exhausted, but grateful, and wanting more. We’d been prayerfully considering the possibilities of homeschooling for quite some time, but also looking into local preschools as we tried to figure out what would be best for us. Maybe it was God’s sovereignty, maybe it was due to the fact that we had just moved to the middle of nowhere and I couldn’t bear to think of driving 25 minutes into town and back and back again three days a week, maybe it was feeling pressed financially and wanting to be wise with our investments, but whatever it was, we decided to keep her home and to dive in to this new, unexplored, beautiful world that is homeschooling.

Upon receiving The Peaceful Preschool curriculum, I devoured those first 26 pages like a hungry child. Oh, the weekly materials are beyond beautiful and I’ll touch on that in a minute, but the heart behind it all… it’s everything. That’s where it clicks and we come back to that overarching question, “What do we want down deep for our family?” and we were met with the resounding answer that, most of all, our deepest desire as parents is to be purposeful and present with one another and with the things that fill our days. Jen’s wisdom and guidance, her experience and practical advice, have helped us solidify a clear vision for why we are doing what we are doing, why it’s worth it, and how we can take tangible action steps toward achieving our heart’s cry for our family. 

You can tell that every word and activity in the weekly lessons have been carefully chosen and created, born from both rich experience and simple, devoted parenting. Though it requires intentionality, most of the learning that occurs is natural and easy to incorporate into our daily lives. I love having the confidence that we are covering phonics and counting skills, while also focusing on life skills like cooking and cleaning and sharing with others. The framework is there, but there’s also a freedom to take it and run with it… compelling us to more. 

It’s been far from perfect. But it’s been us. I know we’ve got plenty of time to continue learning and growing and patiently discovering our longings, our strengths, our weaknesses, our groove. But, it’s been beautiful, needed and deep. It’s crazy how these simple little lessons have helped meet some of those big, down deep desires in our hearts. And as the new year awaits us, I have such hope that more will continue to unfold as we dive into the rest of the letters… into learning… into living…into loving... purposeful and present, together. 

Humbly,

Kelly - This Humble Hive

You can check out Kelly's beautiful resources for learning with toddlers here.