Homeschool is Funner: Can we fast-forward?

Shhh! It’s a rare peaceful moment; nobody move!

relax
I’ve enjoyed the introverted homeschoolers posts at Simple Homeschool because all this chaos and noise with two extra kids is making me c-r-a-z-y. Seriously, some days I am NOT dealing well with it. And as of this week, we have baby Riley EVERY day for the whole school day, rather than just two shorter days each week; she is a sweetie but she does add more chaos and more noise. This too shall pass, and I’ll look back one day and feel like this time of life has flown by. Trying my best to savor it all — but sometimes, y’all, that’s a little harder than others.

Almost ironically, though, I’m itching to jump ahead a few months to our next homeschool year, when I’ll have a preschooler and a first grader in the home education mix. Our current schedule is not at all working for me, and there are so many habits and daily schedule issues that could be so much better without Scout and Jem off at preschool and kindergarten. I hope and pray by then we’ll have worked out more of the kinks in this new life, and will have had the summer to relax, de-school, and spend more time getting to know each other.

Homeschool: It’s funner.

I’m sneakily planting homeschool-is-funner-than-public-school ideas in Scout’s little head. Mwahaha! (And yes, I know “funner” isn’t a word!) After having such a hard time getting Lindsey on board with homeschool, I’m starting early! Thankfully, I’ll only have one year to overcome, rather than the eight years Lindsey was in school before she joined the family. She still hasn’t [re] learned to like learning, but she does finally see many of the benefits of homeschooling.

In one conversation this week, Scout told me she is really excited about getting to “do homeschool.” She asked a few questions, and told me, “You’ve really got to teach me to read. All I know how to read is some sight words!” Got it covered, my dear.

As I’ve been planning, I have been looking back over Kathryn’s kindergarten and first grade years to refresh my memory on what we did and didn’t like, and what I’d do differently. I’m delighted to find that I did NOT get rid of our Little Hearts for His Glory curriculum in one of my clean-out sprees. I will not follow it as strictly as I did back then, in my very first year of homeschooling, but we enjoyed it and I believe it will be just enough to do with Scout next year — tweaking, of course, to take out a few unexciting things and add back in some fabulous Ambleside Online literaturey goodness.

kids_wagon

And FINALLY we have more springlike weather! We’ve been taking advantage of it whenever possible, playing with bubbles, going to the playground, taking wagon rides… I’d love to get back in a habit of an after-dinner walk.

Howdy, Robins!

It seems our robins are back this spring! I noticed the male bringing nest materials, and when I told Kathryn, she moved her schoolwork to the chair by the back door so she could keep an eye on things. WonderDog watched, too.

watching_robins

Jem in particular is fascinated with the robins’ nest, and keeps checking to see if there is a bird working or sitting on it. It’s fun to have the littles already already interested in a little back porch nature study. Ken took them to a nearby playground last weekend and they ended up dissecting pine cones and talking about them. They’re already homeschooling and they don’t even know it!

pinecone

Next week, we’ll be off for spring break — and I’ll be getting ready to head to the Titus 2:1 Conference! Are you going? I’m looking forward to meeting more blogland friends in real life, and photographing the conference in progress!

Visit these homeschool link-ups:

– Homeschool Mother’s Journal at iHomeschool Network
– Weekly Wrap-Up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers
– No Fear Homeschool High School at The Daisy Head
– Collage Friday at Home Grown Learners
– Family Friday at Holy Spirit-Led Homeschooling