Back To School

The title of this blog is a misnomer actually, since we don't go "back to school." We live at our school all the time :-) But we did start back up last Monday, 1st and 3rd grade, and the week went very well. Adapting to the new schedule was easier than expected, though it was nice to sleep in and dawdle all day on Saturday. I stayed in my pajamas the entire day!

Our family has a tradition for every holiday and special occasion: I make a special breakfast of homemade scones and tea. We started the day last Monday with this traditional feast and actually celebrated the end of the week with it as well. And I made Key Lime Curd from scratch for the first time - yummy! As part of school, my sweet girl and I are doing a devotional together called "Just Mom and Me Having Tea," and every Saturday we have a breakfast tea time with a more elaborate tea party at the end of each chapter.

To prepare for this upcoming week, I ran some errands today after church for supplies for both our science experiment (M&Ms!) and more craft supplies. Michael's was having a bunch of clearances on various items, and it was fun digging through various bins to find the treasures. I got my little man a football figurine for 29 cents to paint as a kick-off to the NFL season. My fashionista got a couple of wooden girls to color in and embellish, both under a dollar. I also got her an assortment of trim to dress up some shirts or pants, all for a dollar. With my Michael's 40% coupon, I purchased a set of fabric paint for the kids to decorate their clothing. I got a packet of multi-colored paper leaves at the Dollar Store to welcome the Fall season and to use in various crafts. I'm thinking of making a "Gratitude Tree" where the we all write down what we're thankful for and tape it to the tree. It'd be neat to send some as little notes to friends telling them how we're thankful for them too. At the Target dollar bin, I got each of the kids a card decorating kit for a dollar each, as they have several thank you cards to send out. A dear friend sent them a back-to-school bag of goodies including Fall pencils, little notebooks, and an animal craft. So sweet!

This is year five of homeschooling for me, since my firstborn insisted on starting school at the age of three. Each year, it has gotten easier and more delightful. I think I've found my groove, finally! It is definitely an adventure with limitless possibilities. I've learned so much in the last few years and am excited about the discoveries we'll make this year. Stay tuned...