The first entry

I have been trying for several weeks to come up with a meaningful introduction, but have decided instead to just write simply and from the heart.  I am an average gal with an amazing husband and two beautiful children.  Our daughter G-Bug is 6 years old, spreads sunshine and music wherever she goes, and was diagnosed last year on the autism spectrum with sensory integration challenges.  Our son Truth is an almost four year old who loves his big sister fiercely and feels things deeply.

We chose to homeschool more out of necessity than preference in order to accommodate Gracie's therapies and her specific learning strengths and challenges, and it was one of the best decisions we have ever made.  I have never considered myself a natural teacher in the typical sense (and I still don't), but by God's grace and through the encouragement and wisdom of other homeschooling families and supportive speech and occupational therapists we are making our way, and truly enjoying it.

I hope to regularly share ideas, lesson plans, and other resources that might be helpful to other parents  looking for therapy and/or multi-sensory learning options for their kids of all abilities.  I would love to hear your ideas and resources as well! Please please share!

The name of this blog is taken from the name we have given to our home school: Four Maples Academy.  The maple tree is a good theme for our family - we literally have four maple trees surrounding our house that shade us in the summer and protect us from the cold winds in winter.  The four maples also represent to us the four basic elements of worldview: God (metaphysics), truth (epistemology), goodness (ethics), and beauty (aesthetics). We hope to cultivate a family environment that spurs us on to love and know God, Truth, Goodness, and Beauty in all things, in all disciplines, and in all subjects that we study.

Thanks for reading, and I'm looking forward to learning with you!