One month down, 11 years 11 months to go!

So we're done with our first month of "real" homeschooling and things are going swimmingly. We keep a pretty loose schedule where we try to hit 10 minutes each day of various subjects, and then spend a couple of hours reading (which we rarely do... we're pretty good at 1 hour, though). We also have "special" activities every day where we focus on one subject, so Monday is "Religion Day", Tuesday is "Arts and Crafts Day", Wednesday is "Science Day" and so on. I try to plan these to be hands on, experiential learning activities, and they seem to be a fan favorite so far. They usually run half an hour to an hour. Then there's all sorts of "informal" learning. I've learned that when you're looking for opportunities to teach your children, they seem to crop up everywhere. In my opinion, the kids are learning more from this type of learning than anything else, because they don't know they're being taught so their defenses are down (sneaky, sneaky).

Arrgh, me matey! Where'd me marshmallows go?

On Tuesdays and Thursdays we send Evelyn over to Kaiser Elementary to do Art, Music, and PE. This is really working out because it gives her time to socialize and have fun with new friends, and Katie a break from having all four kiddos around. Our only hiccup with homeschooling came the first day we took Evelyn to school. She had such a good time, she asked Katie "Can you ask Daddy if I can go to school every day?" That about broke my heart. I want my little girl to be happy, and I know she's hyper social, so sending her to school every day would be good for her in that way. We talked about it, and we're still trying to figure it out. We're thinking maybe half a day twice or three times a week. The great thing is that our school is very supportive and has told us that we can basically utilize the school in whatever way we feel is appropriate. So we'll figure it out.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? I don't know, but it's in 3-D!

I should have taken pictures of some of the projects we've done, but I didn't. I'll repent and do better. All in all this has been a great month. The kids have learned lots and have lots more to learn, and the same can be said about me. It's a grand adventure...

Just a little something to make the other fellas jealous. She's mine, boys... HA HA HA HA!

Sorry for the random pics, but I needed a way to keep you interested. I promise I'll try to not do many of these "wordy" posts. I know you just want to see the kids doing crazy, funny, cute, and stupid things when you come here, so I'll do my best to oblige.

I'd swallow it if I could...

So there you have it. Life is good, despite the struggles. Onward and forward!

"The sheets were softer in heaven, but this'll do..."