Back to School! (Already)

We had our first day back to school yesterday.  Since Peanut is due in September, we decided to get a head start on school, so we'd be able to take off a few weeks guilt-free after he comes.  The kids have decided it's a pretty good trade-off.

We started the day off with the traditional going out to eat on the first day of school (started by my parents back when I was homeschooled!).

After a good breakfast, we dove in.  The boys had written letters to their future selves at the end of the last school year, with advice and encouragement for this current year, and we read those before getting started with Bible.

Yesterday was pretty fun, and to be honest, there's something nice about getting back to a routine (though that enjoyment naturally comes after a nice, long break from it!).

Our school year is off to a great start!

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 28

Today I'm thankful for the ability to homeschool our kids.  There are so many factors that go into homeschooling to make it what it is today.  I'm thankful that Dave works so hard for our family so that I can stay home, and I'm thankful that he's so very supportive of homeschooling.  I'm thankful that there is solid, Bible-based, academically challenging curriculum to choose from that is modern, relavent, and doctrinally sound. I'm thankful that the laws of the state and our nation make it much more easy to homeschool than they did back when I was a homeschool kid.  And, though I'm still working on discovering more of them, I'm thankful for all the homeschooling resources that I know are out there.

To be totally and completely honest, I don't always enjoy every moment of being a homeschool mom.  However, I truly think it's the best option for our family right now, and I'm incredibly thankful for all the ways that God has provided for us that make it a possibility.

A good day for homeschooling

Boys being boys.

I am slightly terrified that my kids will not learn enough under my watch.  But, even so, I have decided that we are going to have 4 day book weeks, because boys need time to be boys, and have more time to learn through constructive playtime and hands-on activities.  So, every other Friday, we are taking the day off, and one Friday a month, we'll take a field trip, and one Friday, we'll have an art, music, and extra projects day.

So, while I am slightly afraid of falling down a slippery slope of sending my kids off to play in the backyard and calling it a "field trip" (please imagine air quotes), we took our first field trip this past Friday.

Since we are studying pioneers in History, and our current read-aloud series is Little House on the Prairie, we decided to go to Living History Farms, which, for people not from around here, is a place with  historical, semi-working farms from 3 different periods, as well as a town.

The kids loved it.

I figured we actually managed to hit on most of the subjects.  For starters, we spent time working on the difference in time periods, and how many years were between the different time periods represented (Math).

Clockwise, from the top: Oxen, A pig pen similar to ones from 1850, and a pig from the pigpen.

The kids learned about the difference between cattle and oxen, and the different kinds of pigs (Animal Science).

We read a lot of signs - Isaac was very excited to find out when the Railroad first came to Iowa (Reading).

The boys really enjoyed the farm that was from 1850, which was the closest to what we've been reading about in Little House in the Big Woods.

the 1850's farm

The boys got to go up into the haymow of the 1900's farm, and jump in the hay.  Between that, and all the running around on the trails between farms, we got lots of exercise (PE).

When we got back to the town, we visited the school house, and they practiced writing on the slates (Writing).

The boys wanted me to pretend to be a teacher! :)

In the school house, we saw some old maps, and were able to see what Iowa used to look like, as well as a map of the United States (Geography).

We had a good time at the blacksmith shop.  I don't know that it fell under a specific subject, but Andy had a good time working on problem solving skills trying to solve an iron puzzle.  It reminded me of ones my Grandpa used to have.

We went through more of the town, but were running out of time, and ended the day at the print shop, where the boys got to help run a couple of the presses, and work on setting letters in the press (Spelling).

Finding the letters one by one

The newspaper and the press

All in all, it was a pretty educational day.  And, while I'm not suggesting that we had comprehensive education on any particular subject, we at least managed to touch on math, science, reading, PE, writing, geography spelling, and, of course, history.

Days spent learning with books are a necessary delight, but it was a lot of fun to see the boys connect things that they'd been learning with things that they could see, touch, and even smell.  It brought stories to life and renewed their interest.  

It was a fun day to be homeschoolers!

First Day of Our New School!

After a lot of prayer, discussion, thought, and research, we decided to homeschool this year, and life may never be the same.

It was with no small amount of fear and trepidation that I ordered our curriculum for the year, spent hours and hours planning, and began to wade through all the paperwork required in order to have the state's permission to teach my children at home.

As our first day grew closer, I wasn't sure what to expect.  How many times would I cry?  How many things would I forget?  How overwhelmed would I be with the task we had decided to take on?

However.

I continued to come back to the fact that as Dave and I have prayed for our children, we have felt clear leading from the Lord that homeschooling would be best for our kids.  And we have always believed that what He calls us to, He will equip us for.

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. -Philippians 4:13

So, this morning, we got the kids up early and got started on our back-to-school tradition (kept intact from when I was a childhood!) and went out to breakfast.  

It was a great beginning, and the day got better from there.  Though there were a few hiccups, overall, things were learned, fun was had, and lesons were done.

And shortly after lunch, we were finished for the day.  They were thrilled to be done!

It was a fun day.  I made it through the first day of being a homeschool mom!  And now I'm just left to wonder.....when did my boys get to be so big!?