Happy First Day of School!

Brett went back to work on Monday so I thought that would be a perfect time to start school. We technically do school year round, but not really. We learn year round, but the "academics" are reserved for a regular school year that starts sometime in the fall and ends sometime in the spring.

I'm not sure why I had this vision in my mind of my children waking up joyfully and putting on the cutest outfits they had in their closets to start the school year fresh and new! Ha! Emma came down with an over sized sweatshirt and some fleece pants that could almost be classified as capris, Aidan put on some sports shorts and a Star Wars t-shirt, and Gianna was dressed in a matching sweatsuit because it was 40 degrees that morning and we were all cold (okay, I admit...she was cute). They may have brushed their hair, I'm not sure. Apparently that standard of wearing and looking your best on the first day of school has never been ingrained into our kids. :-) Of course I just chalk this up to one of the beauties of homeschooling, but it sure does make for a silly "first day of school" picture.

The suspense of what we were doing on the first day of school was killing the eldest in our family. You know, the 6 3/4 year old who needs to have control of everything?! He thought he would make me spill the beans the night before when asking sweetly, "So, mommy, what are we doing tomorrow? I can't wait to find out about Ancient Greece. Maybe we're doing that tomorrow." "You'll just have to find out I guess?" Muhahahahahahahahaha!

The kids were pleasantly surprised when they found their school boxes packed full of new school supplies. Gianna received a brand new school box with her very own set of supplies. She set to work cutting the paper I had put in her folder. She loves to cut! Then she was done with school. That was interesting!

Emma is my prized student this year. I know teachers aren't supposed to have favorites, but they all do...we know they do. Emma is the most obedient, cheerful, hardworking little student! She is so excited to officially be in Kindergarten (she wouldn't start K in the school district...she misses the age cut-off by 9 days), and loves to do school. She tells me she wishes the day would start over so she can do school again (we do the majority of our stuff in the morning).

Aidan is excited, but he doesn't exactly get an "A" for attitude. Learning has always been easy for Aidan...I take that back...knowing has always been easy for Aidan...the process of learning has never been easy. He doesn't like not knowing, therefore he is afraid that somewhere along the lines of learning something he might, oh dear, be, don't say it, wrong! AHHHHH!!!!! He's a super intelligent kid who wants to know everything about everything and this year is going to be fun. His reading is ridiculous and that alone opens many, many doors for him.

I would say our first few days have been successful. It's amazing how much more productive everyone is when we all get up and get going. I truly do love homeschooling! I love spending this time with my kids. I love knowing what they are learning. I love that I don't have to take anyone to school in the morning which would mean getting everyone ready to take said child to school. I love that the kids get to spend this time together, getting to know one another. I love that we all get to see "daddy" when he comes home for lunch. Please note that this is a list of all the reasons why I love homeschooling. Not a list of the reasons why I don't like other forms of schooling. I don't think homeschooling is for everyone. I don't think public/private school are evil and only spawn evil children. I happen to know a certain Kindergarten teacher who I would absolutely LOVE for my children to have...Si? Anyway, I just wanted to make that clear.