Our First Day of Homeschool

This morning started off with a quote from Little G that left me giggling for hours afterward. Don't ask me why, it just did. R said "wowzers" about something, to which Little G responded very matter of factly with, "Wowzers. More than one wowzer."

To get things rolling, I decided to start R's first day of homeschool with a simple, fun assignment where she would write five sentences about herself or what she did over the summer. I wasn't sure what to expect, since she didn't do much writing over the summer, but she didn't miss a beat! She did a great job.

Little G was eager to get started on Math, and since part of his lesson involved the use of scissors (which I quickly learned he did not even know how to hold properly), I figured it would be a good idea to give him a head start so he could have some practice time cutting paper. He remained a bit awkward handling the scissors, but he caught on very quickly. There was a mild meltdown because his shapes did not meet his own personal criteria for perfection, but I reminded him that it is practice which makes us good at things. "Everything you know, you've learned," I explained to him. That helped. And so did the fun activity I had planned to go along with R's grade 2 Math lesson - counting to 100 using objects. We used fruity Cheerios!

I did a little more cabinet organizing while R and G enjoyed eating that particular portion of their Math lesson. We have all kinds of cool stuff in there now, from paints and clay and bubble wands to seeds and a mineral kit and goggles to math manipulatives, music DVDs, a tambourine and a slide whistle. And it is sure to keep growing.

After snack time, we continued Math with our workbooks. We've been using workbooks for learning since they were old enough to circle pictures and identify numbers and letters, so these are a lot of fun for them and they both loved this portion of the lesson...dare I say almost as much as the Cheerios?


We also did some Language Arts, during which Little G enjoyed a poem about roller skating and part of Cinderella (we read the remainder next lesson). R started reading Clara and the Bookwagon, which she is really enjoying so far. Little G enjoyed it also, when his sister read aloud for us, just as she enjoyed as G and I took turns reading Cinderella. Their only disappointment was that they both wanted to finish their stories. This seems like more of an asset than a detriment, though, since it gives them something specific to look forward to next lesson.

And finally, Art! R looked at a few different types of art and had an opportunity to create some art of her own. The options for what to create were completely open, which is a lot of fun when you have a creative little spirit like she has, and she chose an underwater theme. Can you see the school of fish, the hammerhead shark, the frog, the fish on the hook, and the fishermen (and fisherwomen, as R insisted) in the boats at the top of the water? (I mistakenly cropped the other boats out of the photo due to the angle at which I took the photo.)

She has an amazing creative ability that I lack, so I really admire her talent. Also, see how the water is three shades of blue? She explained that this is because of "different lighting causing the water to appear different shades of blue depending on where you are looking from". Seriously? She rocks. And this is the stuff I am so thrilled to be a part of. I was missing out on all of this when she was in a bricks and mortar school.

Staying organized, avoiding meltdowns due to G's self-imposed perfectionism, keeping it fun, sticking to the lesson plan, thinking of how to change the lesson plan into a more convenient block schedule, allowing more time due to the fact that G likes to learn everything his sister is learning in addition to his own lessons, reading, drawing, printing papers, checking e-mail, fixing meals and snacks, and pretty much neglecting all actual household chores for the day has left me more than a little tired. But I also feel good, with a definite sense of accomplishment. We even made time for PE activity today (we listened to music and danced, jumped, clapped, and spun in circles to the various beats). My two little students kept me busy, but happily so. Though I will say this; I think teachers are underpaid.

The icing on the cake of our first day of homeschool was my husband coming home with a bamboo plant for me. I thought it so very fitting, lucky bamboo today. And I love bamboo! Such a sweet and thoughtful surprise.

And yes, that is our furry homeschool companion there in the background, perched atop the couch cushions my children have stacked in a fort-like configuration. That's Sticky the cat. But she's not sticky at all, I promise. Well, at least not on days when we don't count fruity Cheerios for math.

Tomorrow is the day school starts for our local public schools. I fully anticipate the bus stopping and beeping here at 8AM, wondering why we're not all out there waiting for it. I'll be waving it along and calling the transportation department to let them know we will not be there this year. R will just be rolling out of bed and asking for me to do her hair instead of leaving the house for 8 hours for day 1 of 180, and tomorrow we might just take some of our lessons outside to enjoy this amazing August weather. Together.

Wherever your little ones are learning this year, I wish you a happy school year!