Week 1: New School Year BEGINS!!

Our fifth year of homeschooling. Wow.  In so many ways, it doesn't seem like it's been that long.  And in other ways, it feels like we've been doing this forever. Drake was just a baby when we started and now he wants to do his "own school stuff."

Week one was a rough success.  Rough because the baby was sick. Success because we mananged to make it through AND have fun somehow. Rough because my oldest spent his days in public school, away from us.

Success because he had a great week and loves it. Rough because we didn't get to everything on the to-do list. Success because we covered more than I thought we would.

First week observations:

• LOVE Scripture Adventures. The layout is perfect for us. I wasn't sure how much to do in a day since there isn't a schedule so we just played it by ear.  We read and talked until we were ready to move on to something else.  We're in Genesis, stories that we've covered a couple of times already so the boys took turns telling me the stories from memory.  That was fun.  LOVE the activities.  So far....it's a hit!
• Gabriel isn't ready for all of the writing I had planned for him to do. HA! Scaling WAAAAY back. 
• Kaleb, however, is learning that he likes to record his thoughts and observations himself in his own little notebooks.
• Drake needs MORE. Always. :)  He wishes he could be doing the SAME work as his older brothers.  I'm not sure if the things I have planned for him will tide him over until next year.
• We all love fun lunches much better than plain lunches....or eating out.
• Crafts are fun. We MISSED our craft time last year. Looking forward to many many crafts this year.
• We spent more time around the table than I thought we would. I have a feeling it's going to take a few weeks to get back into our groove but we'll get there.
• I love my whiteboard.
• If I look at the baby while I read to the boys, he will sit quiet for longer periods of time....already has a LOVE of reading.
• Not having Nathan home is weird.
• Feels GREAT to be *back in school*.

Our days:

• Monday:
• Not-Back-to-School breakfast with the little boys at IHOP.
• Not-Back-to-School pool party with our homeschool group. A sweet friend whose children are older held my baby boy for me so I could swim with my little boys. :) This was the highlight of my day since I really had no idea how I was going to juggle a baby who does NOT like water and two boys who wanted me to *catch* them as they came down the slides into the water.
• Nathan started first day of public school...declared it awesome.

• Tuesday:
• Woke up to a baby with a cold.
• Jumped into our first day of schoolwork anyway.
• Took MANY unplanned breaks.
• Did a very cool geography craft that I had been waiting to do for months.

 

• Wednesday:
• Baby felt a little better so we accomplished more.
• Actually accomplished everything on our list except one craft.
• Surprised the boys with a fun lunch. Told them not to expect it everyday. Ha!

• Nathan came home with Algebra homework. Discovered that I like helping with Algebra more than I like teaching Algebra.....one point in favor of the teen being in public school (there are already several points against public school in my head though).

• Thursday:
• An even better day. It feels SO good get back into a routine after our crazy summer.
• Had a fun little experiment with Apologia's Who is God?  Is the pencil bent???

• The boys and I made "personal pan" pizzas for lunch.  I really like having them cook with me for lunch.  Even if it's something simple like sandwiches, they really enjoy it!

• Co-op signups! Some pretty cool classes coming up in September. Kaleb will have PE (kickball), Magic Treehouse Animal Adventures, and Exciting Bible Adventures. Gabriel is looking forward to Ancient Egypt, Magic Treehouse with Kaleb, and Seuss-erific Fun. Drake will be taking Veggie Tales, Bible Story & Activity, and an arts and crafts class. I am NOT teaching this fall so I will be FREE to cruise the rooms and take pictures of my boys learning and having fun with friends. YES!

• Friday:
• Oh dear Friday. The baby started feeling worse Thursday night. So much so that I decided at 2:30am that he needed to go to the ER. Loaded the kiddos up and took them to my mom's house and then J and I went to the ER. Left 3.5 hours later with a diagnosis of an ear infection and a couple spots of pneumonia, a shot of meds, and a script for more. Friday was spent resting, sleeping, and holding a sick baby. He seemed to be feeling a little better by Saturday night. Sleeping better and smiling again. Hopefully he's on the mend.

Looking forward to this next week.  Figuring out our *new* routine a little more and adjusting the the schedule. Routine and schedule.....two of my FAVORITE words!!!