Handicraft: Beaded Serving Spoons

I received one of these as a Christmas gift in a MOPS group years ago and I love using it. It reminds me of all the MOPS fun and it's just cute. I thought that little hands might be able to do this, so we set off for Hobby Lobby and found some beads and wire. Today (as a tester) we dressed up some serving spoons we already had, but the boys and I had such a good time doing this we are planning on doing this for Christmas gifts. We might even be making some jewelry for out girl friends and cousins (shhhh...it's a surprise!).

Here's some pictures of our version. I looked this up on Pinterest and the blogosphere is full of this project, so I'll save myself the work and let them explain all the little details.

Beaded Serving Spoon How To

I 

I gave a small strand of the wire with a bead "tied off" at the bottom and they joined in on the fun. I can use their beads for Christmas ornaments or key chains for additional gifts. 

Even the littlest hands like to move and sort. 

Schedule, I mean routine...

This is my revision of a revision of our schedule, that is really more of a routine that will likely be tweaked again. It's a special challenge educating a 6 year old with 3 1/2 year old twin brothers and an almost 2 year old brother. This untried routine will go into effect next week, we'll see how close reality looks to this plan. Character above curriculum! Have a plan, but be willing to change on a moments notice (without the dramatics!). 

School Name

I came up with a school name this week. We have been memorizing Psalm 1 and this just seemed to fit our outdoorsy, earthy boys school. Giving our school a name has given us a little more focus and is a daily reminder that my main job should be growing boys into men with deep roots in the Lord. The rest of the curriculum choices and scheduling woes are secondary to raising Psalm 1:3 men. 

Our Curriculum 2013-2014

Choosing curriculum for our homeschooling is a never ending process. I always ask people about what curriculum they use and we swap stories about what has worked and what hasn't. It is important for every homeschooling parent to go on their own journey of research to discover what philosophy and curriculum will work for them and then be willing to adapt, drop and change if something isn't working.

100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum is a great place to start this journey.

We are actually in week 4 of our 1st grade school year with A-man. The twin boys are 3 1/2 and in pre-school. In our house, that's lots of free play and books. No planning really here, just providing experiences. Baby L's (21 monhts) only assignment for the school year is to get potty trained. I decided we would start in the heat of the Texas summer and ease ourselves into a regular schedule (often interrupted by trips to the pool and last minute outings). We'll take more breaks throughout the year in October and April when weather in Texas is at it's best.

Over the past several months I have discovered a lady who I would give anything to sit down and have a chat with over a cup of coffee. Her name was Charlotte Mason. She was a late 19th century/early 20th century educator. Many homeschoolers have at least heard to her and many follow her general philosophy without evening realizing it. When I started reading about her and what she had to say about education I was instantly at home with her and had to know more. Not having any children of her own, she dedicated her life to the education of children and had so much insight into the mind of a child. One of her quotes is, "Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life." This homeschooling thing is not just school, it's how we do life. She has written many volumes and I will continue to study her writings while teaching and developing a true love for my children (and myself).

Some Charlotte Mason ideas that we use in our school day include living books (textbooks are secondary), narration (telling back what we read), memorization, copywork, nature journaling, handicrafts, artist and composer study. Also, we keep lessons to no more than 20 minutes. So, our schoolwork (including PE, breaks, music practice time) is from 8:30-11:30 am. We shift around here and there as life needs to be shifted with three younger kids and an entire world to explore!

There are two resources (more exist I'm sure) of Charlotte Mason curriculums for free. You just purchase the books or find them at your library and follow the guides and schedules. I may use one of these for next year.

Charlotte Mason Help
Ambleside On-line

But, I still need a little more hand-holding as I figure out our homeschooling life, so here are my picks for curriculum 2013-2014 (1st Grade Year):

Sonlight Core B for: 
History/Geography
Bible (Devotional, Missionary stories, and reading from the Bible)
Language Arts (we don't do the worksheets, just the 3rd grade read alouds)--He reads to me
Read Alouds (Chapter Books I read to him)
Poetry (we just read it and talk about it)

I love Sonlight's book choice. I also love how the teacher's guides are all thorough and ready for me to grab and go. Many people just look up the book lists on-line and create their own curriculum from there. I might be willing to give that a go next year after getting another year of homeschooling under my belt. So far, Sonlight has been a great set of training wheels to get me on the path of teaching through great literature.

Sonlight B for Science:
Again, it's literature based and the lesson plans are all there and done for you to choose 4 days a week or 5 days a week (we do 4 days a week).

Math
We have used Horizons Math through Kindergarten and although we are continuing it into 1st grade, I am looking into using this free program available on-line. It's more teacher intensive, but I like how it presents math concepts. http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mep/default.htm

Kindermusik for the Young Child Semester 3 and 4
Yeah! That Kindermusik licensing I went through before our first baby was born is coming in handy! Kindermusik is thorough and age appropriate.  I gathered up some friends of mine and last year we did Semester 1 and 2, learning all about composers, music, basic notation and playing the glockenspiel. This year we'll continue our note-reading while learning a simple dulcimer and the recorder. Again, Kindermusik has it all planned for me, although you can only order and teach the curriculum after you have special Kindermusik certification.

Artist/Composer Study
I discover more and more blogging homeschoolers who develop their own curriculum and make available free of for purchase. I found this one and purchases the Year 1 curriculum.

Handwriting/Copywork
I just came across this recently and I'm intrigued. It is italic handwriting and then goes into italic cursive, which is sort of a blend of print and cursive. I thought that seem awfully complicated at first until the next day when I was writing and realized that I have developed my own print/cursive style. And, it's Charlotte Mason approved, so you can't go wrong! (famous last words!)

Bible Memory
The Sonlight curriculum does come with it's own bible memory CD. The arrangements and the version they use are not my favorite, so this year we are using a "Seeds" album to memorize scripture. The one we are using is "Seeds of Character". I type each scripture on note cards and laminate them and we work on bible memory for about 10 minutes each school day. I play the music at different point throughout the day. This is going well so far, so I imagine each year we'll pick a different album.

Also, I JUST found that through the Seeds Family Worship website, they have pdfs of the chord charts for all their songs. SWEET! We can get a little singing and piano playing into this as well!

Spanish
I bought this based on the good Amazon reviews. So far, I'm not thrilled. We'll see. I liked that all the kids could watch it and hopefully learn together. Again, we'll see.

Handicrafts
Just go to Hobby Lobby and let them pick out a handicraft type project that interests them!

I do believe that is it! Happy School year y'all!

Mommy Pouch for under $1

This is a mommy pouch that I actually want to keep! Before kids I taught music and got this idea from a fellow teacher. It was a lifesaver when I was teaching. I would always need this and that during the day and didn’t want to interrupt teaching a lesson to grab a kleenex or a pen. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get around to doing this during my next teaching career with my own children as the students! It took a whole 6 minutes. This would be handy for any mom who is at home and running around keeping all the plates spinning. But, if you’ve ever taught children (especially your own children) you know how much it can take to get their attention in a lesson and how quickly that attention can run away if you turn your back for a second. When I’m homeschooling I often have had to run out to grab this or that, this is a great way to have it right there with me. Also, when I’m cooking I can stick a little towel in there to wipe my hands.
3 things you’ll need:

Lowe’s canvas apron for 98 cents
scrap fabric
iron-on stitch.

 Fold and iron the fabric to fit over the front. Attach the fabric to the apron with the iron-on stitch.

Stuff it with your “this and that”. I put in my phone to use for music and a timer, pencil and notebook to write down all those ideas I hardly have time for, gold stars because kids seem to do anything for a gold star, kleenex (of course) and band-aids because Grant falls a lot and he thinks he’s bleeding every time and a band-aid makes him feel better.

Mom’s ready now! Try to get distracted now, kids…

Summertime!

Summer is great, but with Texas summer comes extreme heat and therefore more indoor time than we'd like. Our boys love games, so I pulled out my copy of "Home School Family Fitness" for some ideas of indoor and outdoor games. I just printed each one on a 3x5 card so when I am in that time of "they need something to do, what do we do?", I can pull out a card and we're on our way. I printed indoor games in black and outdoor in red.

Indoor games:
Hide and Seek
Balloon Volleyball
Dodge Ball
Blanket toss (Ball on blanket, toss in air)
Simon Says
Follow the Leader
Four Square (tape on the floor or chalk on the garage floor)
Musical Ball (like musical chairs, but toss the ball around until the music stops)
Obstacle Course (use cushions, chairs, whatever and time your little one through it over and over!)
Tug of War
Golf Ball Race (roll golf balls down the stairs)
Golf Ball Balance (balance golf ball on a tee and walk)

Outdoor Games:
Basketball
Baseball
Tag
Capture the Flag
Handball (on the driveway)
Soccer
Kickball
Baby Pool and water guns (we do this one almost every afternoon in the summer)

Our Classroom

A typical day in our homeschooling classroom. I love that our oldest is now starting to 

read to his younger brothers! 

Birthday ice cream cake!

This time tomorrow we'll officially have three year old twins! Happy Birthday boys! 

We'll celebrate with our family after dinner tonight because tomorrow night we have to run off after dinner for tae kwon do with older brother. We'll enjoy this organic chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream filling and whip cream frosting. The cake and frosting recipe is from 100Daysofrealfood.com and the vanilla ice cream was made in our new (and already much used) ice cream maker. Yum! 

Using it!

Teaching my oldest (6 years old) to read has been more fun than I could have imagined. Once he has learned to be an independent reader, he can go and learn and do anything he wants. It's like seeing him unwrap a present (very slowly!). Today, he put what he has learned into practice and did a scavenger hunt for me. I love this boy! 

1. Mom, go to the backyard.

2. Mom, go upstairs

3. Mom, to to Aaron's Room

4. A pillow for me to rest!

Life with Boys

From the excitement over a frog, to the many expressions, 

to the failed potty training attempt, 

this pretty much sums up our life with boys! 

I've really enjoyed hearing and sharing stories with other moms of boys at 

The MOB (Mothers of Boys) Society! 

This is how WE do it

The emphasis is on "we" because the beauty of homeschooling is that you can do it however if works for your children and your family. From the Fall of 1983 when little Katey walked into Kindergarten at Franklin Elementary School in central Illinois until the Spring of 2006 when me and my pregnant belly walked out of the music classroom in Kewanee, Illinois that I had taught in for six years, I had been on a schedule...a tight one. Thankfully, I enjoyed most of my time in school. When I decided to homeschool and set up a classroom, I naturally went towards the traditional look to which I was so accustomed. Some homeschoolers like to just pull out some books on the kitchen table. I find some comfort and security in having a special place in which so teach my children. We'll often plop on the couch to read books, take lots of field trips out and about, but a lot of the "book learnin'" happens in this room. It was meant as the formal dining room for the house, but we are far from formal people! So, it has made the perfect playroom in the past and now a school room.

This is the school room in it's "before" state. Imagine every toy, and most of the books on the floor and the chairs huddled together with a blanket over them making a "cave" and that's what it looks like once the students arrive for the day. What makes this work for us is the Aaron's workbooks book are within his reach on the shelves. I write the day's school goals on the board (most days) and our job is to have them all erased  by the time daddy gets home from work.

 

If we were ever able to do those goals on the board straight through, it would take about an hour and a half. But, we have to deal with some slight disruptions (pictured above). We take breaks when we need to and I try to go with the flow of the day. Sometimes we don't make it to everything on the board and that's okay. I've learned to try and make realistic goals for our school day. Thankfully Aaron is a very motivated learner. Often, he'll take it upon himself to go further in the book than was planned, which gives me a littler more ease when he says "I don't feel like doing this now...". When I get that response, sometimes I push him to finish the page, but most times I say "Okay, we'll look at it again later." 

We've chosen Horizons for our Math and Reading/Phonics curriculum. I think it's thorough and fits well into our day. I keep these within his reach so he can go and grab them when we have some time for our schoolwork. To help round out school we participate in a science club that we have once a month and I teach a weekly music class with Aaron and other kids his age. We have bible verse memory goals and a journal to write in occasionally. And, we try to fit some art in there somewhere, not our strong area right now! 

But, my favorite thing to do by far is to read with him. I'm enjoying reading great literature as much as he is. Sometimes he'll snuggle up with me, which is great. But, more often these days he wants to keep moving (he's a boy!). He'll go do a puzzle, build another "cave" or even do his math workbook while I'm reading. At first, I was a little unsure of how he could listen to the story and be doing so many other things at the same time. But, I'll stop every now and then and ask him comprehension questions, and sure enough, he's (usually) listening right along with the story. 

Right now we're reading old, worn copies of "The Little House on the Praire" series. These books were read to me by my mom when I was little. It's a special thing to use the same books to read to my boys now! 

But, there's always room for new books. I got this rendition of "The Wizard of Oz" at Kohl's for $5 (part of their Kohl's Cares books). The  imaginative writing and captivating illustrations had us putting aside the goals for the day to sit and read this all in one day. Even the little brothers plopped down for a while to take a look at this one! 

This is how it's working for us now. A year from now I'm sure it will look completely different. Even with all it's many twists and turns, I'm loving homeschooling!

Real Food, Real Good, Spring Rolls

Real Food, Real Good, Spring Rolls

This post has nothing to do with homechooling, on the surface anyway. But, the more I get into homeschooling, the more I see how everything in the home weaves itself into schooling...dinner prep included!

A few months ago my husband and I changed our eating from what we thought was fairly healthy, to real food eating...garden to table kind of eating. First we watched Forks over Knives (on Netflix) and found quite a few other documentaries on the subject. Then, we found 100daysofrealfood.com, which challenged us to take a serious look at what we put on our table and into our bodies. Each week we would change a little more and more until now we have only have a few items (spaghetti noodles, rice cereal, tomato paste, olives, ketchup) that we buy and are in packages or cans. Some people think this kind of eating is crazy, you may think we're crazy, we probably would have called us crazy a year ago. But, crazy is as crazy does, I guess! I've lost 53 lbs. and counting and we both feel much better eating a plant-based, real food diet. Each week we make a batch of black bean tortillas from whole wheat organic flour and black bean puree using this tortilla press. We've replaced bread with these tortillas. The kids have peanut butter tortillas for lunch most...okay every single day. We use them for quesadillas, cut them into wedges and bake for tortillas chips and we recently came across these baking tins to make taco salad bowls. 

A few weeks ago I was in the mood for spring rolls. We eat rice, beans and sauteed veggies a lot around there. It's a quick and easy real food meal, but it needed some pazazz. In the past I would get a box of frozen spring rolls. I haven't yet gone to the store to see the ingredient list on those, but I can only assume it's long and hard to pronounce. So, I just took the tortillas we already made, rolled up a filling, and baked them. They came out great! The entire family (except my 5 year old who has a short list of foods he likes) loved them. They make great leftovers and freeze well. 

Make tortillas

3 cups whole wheat flour

1/3 cup canola oil 

1 cup cooked black beans

2 cups warm water

1/2 tsp sea salt

Mix together the flour, salt, and oil. Blend the beans and water in a blender and add to the flour and oil mixture. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Preheat tortilla press. The dough will be fairly wet and "goopy" in order to make thin and pliable wraps. Using a spoon, scoop the mixture and press. This amount of dough should make about 20 wraps. Or, just use store bought tortillas or roll wraps!

Filling

1/4 head cabbage

2 cups kale

1/2 cup mustard greens

1 cup of baby carrots

1 cup or celery

1/4 of red wine vinegar to taste

1/4 tsp ground mustard (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

You can use whatever vegetables you have on hand, but I think the cabbage is a good base. Mince vegetables in a food processor and place in a large mixing bowl. Add vinegar, salt, pepper and dried mustard and mix. Cover and place mixture in fridge for 30-60 minutes. 

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Place a spoonful of mixture onto each wrap, fold the sides in and roll over. Place the roll on a baking sheet. Bake 30-40 minutes or until rolls are crispy. Serve with whole grain brown rice, sauteed zucchini, and lentil sprouts (use lentils in a sprouter like this one.)  

Chapter Book Challenge

I'm taking up the challenge from The Homeschool Experiment blog  and making a plan for reading chapter books to Aaron (almost 6) this school year. I started reading chapter books to him when he was 4 and I love snuggling up on the couch and reading to him. I look forward to when the younger ones can join in on long chapter books. As part of our homeschool curriculum we chose the Sonlight Core Curriculum, which is a great bunch of read-alouds (including bible, history, poems and chapter books) with a plan and a reading/writing curriculum. It makes the overwhelming choice of what great books to read to your children simple. You can purchase the entire curriculum with books, or take a look at their book list and find them at your library or order on amazon.

September: Little House in the Big Woods (purchased a Unity Study for $2 from here)
October: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
November: The House at Pooh Corner
December: A Grain of Rice
January: Gooney Bird Greene
February: Detectives in Togas
March: Henry Huggins
April: Owls in the Family
May: The Case of the Gasping Garbage
June: Mrs. Piggle Wiggle

Other Chapter Books we've enjoyed:
Charlotte's Web
Stuart Little
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Dolphin Treasure
My Father's Dragon
The Hundred Dresses
Twenty and Ten
The Boxcar Children
In Grandma's Attic
Mary on Horseback

Learning throughout our day...

"These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." (Deut. 6:6-7 NIV)

I read this verse in a devotional this morning and it reminded me of how we are "doing school". The biggest lessons (spiritual and educational) are learned in little conversations throughout our day.

First Day of Kindergarten

We had a great official kick-off to homeschooling. We spent the morning at the Austin Zoo. Here are a few "highlight reels" of our day.  

Our four little bears. 

Still felt the need to be "schooly" with a scavenger hunt. We quickly gave it up and just looked at the animals! 

Yes, we did see some actual animals at the zoo, just got better pictures of pretend ones. 

Happy Schooling! 

A square peg in a round hole

The first lesson we learned when I eased our family into homeschooling earlier this year is that square pegs don't fit into round holes. But, the lesson wasn't for the kids, it was for me. I tried to fit my four little square peg boys into a regimented, traditional classroom round hole. Rookie mistake. And although I had been warned of this rookie mistake, I have a bad habit of trying mistakes on for size.

Here's a typical homeschooling lesson plan when I first started:
1. 9:00 am: Put baby down for a nap. Sing "This is the Day that the Lord has Made! Let us Rejoice and be glad in it!". Mom, I don't want to sing today! Aaron, sing the song, keep a steady beat on your lap. Rejoice....BE GLAD!
2. Calendar time: Turn around the number for today and discuss the month, day and year. Boys, don't touch the calendar, Aaron has to learn what month it is! Wait, the baby's up from nap already!? Okay, I'll wait a minute, maybe he'll go back to sleep. 
3. Reading Workbook: Complete Lesson 2. Why is it four pages long? Okay, it's four pages long, we have to do four pages because that's how long the lesson is. Aaron, sound out "b-e-d". Why is he flopping on the floor!? Oh Lord, my son will never read. I heard a 3 year old reading the other day, why can't my 5 year old read one word?!? Oh yeah, the baby...
4. Math: Lesson 5. Okay, I can nurse a baby and keep Aaron on track in his math book and keep the twins from pummeling each other. Boys, share! I'm huuuungryyyyyy!!! Don't bite your brother. What's that smell? ...........Okay, school's done......When does Kindergarten enrollment begin!?!?!?!? 

Shhhhhh....

Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10

It still took me a good month to finally take God's chill pill and realize that I could just do school with Aaron during the littler kids' nap time in the afternoon, or in the evening, or the weekends. And, that any success we experience is because of Him and failures are not that big of a deal. Since then things have gone much smoother and our days go a little something like this: 

Mom, can I do my reading workbook? Sure. Can we do a puzzle? Sure. Will you play balloon volleyball with me? In a few minutes, I'm coloring with your brothers right now and then I have to change the baby's diaper, and switch out the laundry, and clean up the kitchen. Aaron, you need to do your math before lunch. Okay. Hey boys, let's walk down to the park and collect rocks and bugs and sticks and things along the way. Yeah! The speed limit is 55, but I'm going 45, how much faster can I go and not get a ticket? Mom, can I say my memory verse? Do it! 

You get the idea. And, no, not all the tantrums and "what is happening!?" moments have gone away and I am "guiltily" thankful for Netflix and that they will sit and watch a show whenever things get too crazy. But, I feel like I can handle the craziness because the big picture is more eternal. My boys are learning to be respectful, obedient, to encourage each other, to take it slow, to learn and grow as you go throughout each day. I'm learning to be respectful, obedient, to encourage them, to take it slow, to learn and grow, and depend on God to see us through each day. Patience...ahhh...patience. I want to teach them patience more than anything! My boys will receive a well rounded education (I know, I'll need of help when it comes to teaching grammar!), but I'll strive to set the bar on something more eternal.

Behind the Scenes Homeschooler

“The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes selves with everyone else’s highlight reels." Steven Furtick

We've got a little boy turning six in two months and about a year ago we decided that we were going to homeschool. Why? is usually the next question. The short answer is because that's the direction that God has lead us. Many families find success in public and private schools because that is the direction that God has lead them. Most of my friends we met when our kiddos were just two years old are happily gathering school supplies and excitedly waiting for that first bell to ring. I'm happy and excited for them! I'm sure their children will thrive because they have parents that pray over them and love them and God is with them, too. It's just not the direction we've chosen. 

A lot of people who ask me about homeschooling like the idea and would consider it, but don't feel like they can based on their "highlight reel" perception of homeschooling. My Pinterest homeschooling board is filled with cute, fun ideas to teach concepts...I've done very few of them. Maybe the people I talk to think they have to have the patience of a saint, the craftiness of Martha Stewart and the knowledge of...someone really knowledgeable. I've learned that homeschoolers don't need any of those things. Just a love for their children, the desire to do it and a supportive family and friends really helps.  I hope this blog can serve as a record of our family's journey and also a behind-the-scenes, real-life view to others considering or just plain curious about homeschooling. 

The long answer to our decision began three years ago when I had never even considered homeschooling. I had heard of homeschooling. I had met a few families that home schooled and their children were awesome. But, I had never considered it for our family. Then, two years ago I started getting nervous seeing pictures of people putting their kids on school buses and thinking of sending my kids to school one day. I didn't understand why I was getting nervous...wasn't this the plan? I put my teaching career on hold when our first son was born to stay at home with our children. I never regretted that decision. We'd send our kids to Kindergarten and when we had sent the last one off then I'd be able to restart my teaching career. But, once again in our lives, our plan apparently wasn't lining up with God's plan. Once again, God was bugging me about something that I wished would just go away. And, once again, I knew that God's plan was always better, even when it seemed impossible. 

I loved teaching. I taught a classrooms of 25+ kids music for six years, but the idea of teaching my own children at home was terrifying. I spent the next six months struggling with the question to homeschool, public school or private school our children, all the while my husband is blissfully unaware that this thing called homeschooling even existed. I didn't want to tell him it existed. Then it would be out in the open...where discussions happen and the possibility of us actually homeschooling might take root. 

After it became obvious God wasn't going to stop bugging me about this, I told my husband that I had been struggling with this question. "Honey, there's this thing called homeschooling, you teach your own kids...at home. I have no idea how it works or why I'm even talking about this, but thought you should know...it's out there." It's out there alright. We started reading books about homeschooling and the discussions came and the possibility indeed took root. I talked with some Christian moms who had sent their children to public school and another Christian mom who was homeschooling. I wanted to hear about both sides of the fence in hopes that our decision would become clear. Honestly, I was rooting for public school. But, of course, our final decision was to homeschool. 


Our first son, Aaron, turned five in October of last year. Although school usually starts in the Fall, we decided to start Kindergarten in January. Part of the decision was because he and I were ready for it. But, honestly, the behind-the-scenes truth was that if this homeschooling thing was a total failure, I could still send him to public school in the Fall. However, in the past few months we've found a lot of freedom and flexibility in homeschooling. Thankfully we still have that freedom in  this country. Other countries are not so lucky, but more about that in another post. We look forward to building our children's education on a solid foundation of Jesus Christ. Also, selfishly, I am excited to spend this time with my boys (I've got three younger ones) and see each light bulb of learning come to light. It's as exciting to me as seeing them take their first steps. 

And, a bonus to starting early is that Aaron is so far blissfully unaware that his best friend who lives across the street and the vast majority of his other friends are getting to go to the "big school". I haven't talked about it. I also haven't not talked to him about it, it's just something that hasn't really come up.  So far, when people ask him when he's starting school, he just says he has school at home. It's completely normal to him and I don't want him to find out that we aren't as normal as he thinks we are...not yet.  Another behind-the-scenes truth...we've got a fun family field trip to the zoo planned for the first day of public school in case word gets out that he's not going. 

So, although we've been homeschooling for a while now, it feels like this has just been the warm-up lap.  When Monday comes and goes and he doesn't come and go from the big building down the street, it will become more real. And, although homeschooling has been a blessing to our family and it's working really well, the uncertainty of this decision creeps up on me every now and then. But, we live by faith and rest in His blessed assurance. 

Up next...how school looks for us.