First Week Of Homeschooling in 2013

Our first week went very, very well.  The kids were quiet and followed the rules pretty well.  Due to the local schools being closed for weather, we still didn't get a chance to tell our friends good-bye or let the school know we wouldn't be coming back.  I have emailed both teachers and made things clear, but we still must do the formal paperwork to make things legal.  This is all going on while we are packing and attempting to move into our new home... let's just say hectic but blessed and move on!

We found some "locker blocks" at Walmart on clearance for $4 and I felt it would be the easiest and most organized way to keep their stuff together and make them be accountable for their own books.  I used name tags I got from the Dollar Tree and attached them to the top of the locker.  I also found some blankets on clearance for $2 and decided to allow the boys to buy one and put in their locker for days they are cold or maybe don't feel as well.  Both of my kids are blanket boys and need something to cuddle some days.  My school, my rules.  I will be bringing my blanket as well :)

I struggled to figure out how to incorporate our lunch time within our required hours because we are on a tight schedule.  I will post more about that in the next post.  I do five hours of homeschooling a day so that we do not have to do actual work on Friday's and can focus on our field trips or Library trips.  This may not work for some people and some days we will have to rearrange, but for now, that is what works for us.  The boys have decided they want to watch movies during lunch time and I think eating in the classroom and staying focused will be better than allowing them to go eat in the kitchen and then try to come back to class.  This way if I have a video for that day, they will still be working on something educational and if not, I have alot of videos that I want them to watch about bullies, religion, sports, etc..

I found a tornado maker at Rite Aid on clearance for $3 and it even came with a Storm Chasers video so we chose to work on that this week.  The maker is so awesome!  It has real sounds and you can turn it to different sizes and it looks so real.  You can even

Our first week turned out to be so much fun!  I loved the light I saw in my children's eyes as they began to realize that the world is their classroom and we don't have to put limits on what we can learn about!  I look forward to doing this for many many more days to come! :)