Underway: The 2016-2017 School Year

We've been getting back in the school groove for almost a month now, but as of this week we are officially in the groove. Co-op started, Community Bible Study Started, and a full slate of fall field trips are beginning. 

I need to be better about saying no to some things. Earlier this week when I looked at September's calendar page, I realized that I had our family joining in on 8 field trips. This could be a problem. But it's just so hard to say no to fun things with friends, and exploring outside, and discovering new places...!

This handsome dude is in 5th grade and is ALL ABOUT history. He can't get enough of it. I assign certain chapters from various books and he goes above and beyond and reads several chapters from each book because he can't put the book down. And no way Jose and I going to ask him to slow down.

This cool-stuff 4th grader is too smart for his own shorts and too cocky for his own cute grin. While not a genius at any one thing, he knows a tad too much about seemingly all things. I'm starting find him one-upping me on facts and figures and I have to consult Google to verify. Sigh.

Lil Miss Thing is in 1st grade and is all about pink and purple and flowers and butterflies and has a backpack full of color-coordinated supplies to prove it. She's one of the few who can proudly don sparkly shoes and a ruffly dress while scampering on her hands and knees to catch toads and skinks. Reading independently has been a challenge for her, but she's making big strides in the right direction. Talking nonstop and bossing other people around, however, comes ever-so-naturally and she faces the challenge of toning it down a notch.

And this kid. Ohmygoodness this kid. Loud. Feisty. Independent. Loud. Destructive. Curious. Loud. Active. Smart. And LOUD. He loved his first day of co-op where he played a tambourine in music class, used scissors in art class, and sat on the teachers lap eating crackers during reading class. Watch out world: I am almost ready to relinquish parental responsibilities and let him go.

But at least he's cute.

Sometimes.

We used a few weeks in August to slowly introduce subjects, rather than a deluge of all subjects at once on an official first day of school. For us it works well: a couple hours of focused learning in the morning, followed by several hours at the pool with friends in the afternoon. Simple.

I say it again and again but it bears saying yet again: I love homeschooling. I'm grateful for the choice to home school. I'm grateful for the freedom to home school. I'm grateful for kids who enjoy being home schooled. I'm grateful for friends who also home school and live this crazy life with me.