First Week of School.

We are back in the swing of things with homeschooling and I am loving it!  We started a few of our subjects last week, but Monday kicked off with the official first day of school.    Swee'Pea has been re-enrolled in the charter school that we LOVE and is excited for a year of enrichment classes and fun activities.  He is technically enrolled as a Kindergartner again, although we choose to focus less on a grade level and more on "this is YOUR level" work around here.  Our workload has almost doubled with the addition of some fun new programs and subjects, but they are full of fun crafts and activities that he loves so it actually made the days more enjoyable rather than burdensome.  Hooray!

Here he is with his morning work.  I love this because he can do it on his own, and he loves this because he gets to use a wet erase pen.  Win-win.

Our set-up has grown quite a bit this year with the addition of an awesome rolling cart and a paper organizer and binders.  I still have nowhere to hang his art (coming soon!) and would love a large white board but I'm thankful for the small space that I have.  Our science curriculum just arrived and the huge box of experiments is just sitting in the middle of the living room.  So.... yeah.  No idea where that will end up but for the  most part I feel pretty organized.

The box on the left is my teacher's editions and extra readers and workbooks for the rest of the year.  On his desk is a crate of readers my mother-in-law's school was tossing out.  There are about 50 books from K-2nd grade reading level, and Swee'Pea loves going through these for "free read" time.

My Ikea cart which I am so in love with there are no words.  I love that I can pull it out as we need supplies.  I love that it allowed me to clear off most of Swee'Pea's desk so he has space to work.  I love that it is adorable and therefore obviously necessary for homeschooling.  The top section houses our pencils and pens and his daily workload which I organize each evening.  The middle row is our glues and tapes and office supplies and all his language flash cards.  The bottom row is our paint supplies.  I can't believe I waited so long to buy one of these!  

I nabbed this paper organizer from my class.  I bought it my first year of teaching and have since gone with a different set-up in my room which made this basically a large annoyance collecting dust on my counter.  It is perfect for our needs!  His colored paper, lined paper, and flash cards fit perfectly, and his daily work binders look great on top.  We still continue to love this little radio, where we listen to countless hours of The Jesus Storybook Bible, Story of the World: Ancients, and lots of Dodger radio.  

Another great Ikea find.  This fits into the small top cubby in the desk.  I have never felt so organized!

Obviously thrilled to be thrilled that I stopped taking pictures of our classroom and focused the camera on him.

Counting "cheese" for addition.

Another new favorite purchase.  These are tiny condiment cups I found 4 for $1 at Walmart.  I bought 3 packs.  We use them to mix paints, put small manipulates, play games, etc.  Love them!

Reading to dad while mom obnoxiously plays paparazzi.

Something else that has me tickled pink this year is that I have several friends and loved ones joining us on this crazy adventure that is homeschooling.  My sister-in-law is just one of those who has decided to homeschool her kids and I couldn't be more thrilled.  We decided we wanted to make the First Day of School super special since her kids were used to the traditional first day back excitement (Swee'Pea, on the other hand, was completely confused why people were getting up early and no one was available to play at the park with him!).  We made it a PJ Monday, complete with a trip to the doughnut store with the kids (and Starbucks for the mommies).  We had a fantastic morning letting the kids eat and chat while we discussed curriculum and scheduling and all that other nerdy homeschool stuff.  :)

After morning treats we split the kids up for some fun art lessons using our history curriculum.  It was really enjoyable for Swee'Pea and me to have someone to work with since we are usually doing these projects alone.  We are looking forward to many more group activities and are thrilled we have a buddy at home during the day now to play.  Hooray!

My first time NOT going to the First Day of School as a student or teacher in TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS.  Can I get a Praise the Lord?!?!

Best pals.

Our crazy crew.  Lucy Kate can't wait to join this bunch in a few years!

A few people have asked how homeschooling is going with the baby.  And honestly?  It is a dream.  She gets up between 6:30-7am to nurse so I can brew my coffee and get Swee'Pea's breakfast ready as soon as she is done and changed.  He gets up, we eat and watch one cartoon and a bit of The Today Show, and then we are off and running at 8:00!  A bonus is that cousin Henry has afternoon Kinder this year, so we have been able to call him to meet us at the park for "recess."  It is a much needed break for Swee'Pea, and a much needed breath of fresh air for mama and baby to just stroll around the park and enjoy the quiet.  Of course we have had bad mornings like any other family with a new baby, but overall I think it will work out just fine.

Of course, ask me again in a few weeks when I return to work... then things are really going to get crazy!