Homeschool is in Full Swing!

I can't put into words the joy that I feel at the new direction our lives are headed in. Homeschooling is something that has always been in my heart. I NEVER wanted my kids in a "formal" school setting. I'm just a weird mom like that, I guess. I just want them with me as much as possible and I feel like it's my responsibility as their mother to be the one who teaches them... and also this ensures that they are taught the things I want them to know. Ha! Who knows how that sounds to a more mainstream personality, but I can't be concerned with that. Now that we are head first, up to our shoulders deep in this homeschooling adventure, I find myself becoming more and more obsessed with all the wonderful things I want my children to learn and experience. So much more than I know is possible in the typical school setting. And I'm just lucky enough to have children who have taken right to this change and actually love it just as much as I do.

I think the main hold back for Tony and I on going ahead with homeschooling when Emma was first ready to start school was the socialization angle. It was such a silly thing to worry about though I have found. My kids have almost daily play dates now and I'm finding everything I can to involve them in. We've been to church more in the past two weeks than we have been in their entire lives all together. Yes, I am ashamed to admit that and the only explanation I have for that is.... when I'm spending all week involved in something that I don't want and something that frustrates me daily ( public / outside schooling) I AM NOT doing anything on the weekend except exactly what I want to with my children. This is just my stubborn personality at work. I am also extremely lucky that our area has an AMAZING homeschool network. HOME stands for Homes Offering Meaningful Education and they offer our kids everything that they would benefit from in a normal school setting. I can't wait to meet the families and get involved with them as much as possible!

I am now so happy to report that all that stress and frustration is completely gone from my life and things are exactly they way I've wanted them from the beginning! :) Not to say that I am stress-free. Ha! That's a joke. :) I am very tired and extremely ready for bed at the end of the day, but it's a good kind of tired. I know once the baby's born this will improve greatly, as a huge part of my exhaustion comes from my huge, aching body and all that growing a baby involves.

Here are some pictures from our homeschooling days so far... the first few a lot of you have probably seen (on Facebook) but the rest are brand new!! :)

This is a ring of charts. Each day Emma has on her chart the activities and subjects that she can expect that day. They are different everyday with the exception of Math and Reading. Those are an everyday occurance. :) When she's done with a subject, she turns it over so she can kind of control how quickly she gets things done. Also this helps, because some things are independent activities for her, so she can do those while I'm working with Noah. It's great! :) And I found this idea at this awesome homeschool mom's website.

These are some of my favorite new things to use with Emma! They're called Wrap-Ups if you haven't seen them before and they are just excellent for helping kids learn their addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts! Awesome!

We had left over pumpkins after Halloween, so today the kids painted them. They loved it. Kids and paint. I don't know what it is, but nothing makes mine happier than painting something. Ha! ;)

Can't you just feel how much Noah loves his big sister in this picture? He's so happy she's home with him every day now! :)

Hope you enjoyed! Have a great day!! :)